Bad Intentions
by SummerJane11
Summary: An affair to forget. Hailey Bennett is Rita's eldest and screwed up daughter, but Dexter doesn't just think of her like that. Will she see a side of him that Rita never did? WARNING: CONTAINS MATURE THEMES and SEXUAL CONTENT (certain chapters rated M)
1. Chapter 1

**DEXTER**

She didn't know exactly when it started but now that it had she couldn't stop. She knew she was too young for this, she knew that what they were doing was wrong, so wrong that it broke basically every moral she had. But it was different, he was different and she couldn't give that up. She kept telling herself that what they had was special, that they were going to end up together, one way or another, that all the complications would work out. But she knew she was wrong. She knew that he was never going to leave _her_ and she didn't resent him for that, she understood. She knew that even if he did it wouldn't change anything. That they still wouldn't be able to be open about their relationship. Everything was too fucked up for that. After all, it wasn't just another woman. It was her mother.

**THE APPLE FELL FAR FROM THE TREE**

**CHAPTER 1**

_Detention. Again. She wasn't exactly sure why Mr. Daniels had given her a detention for the 5th day in a row. Every time she was in his class he would give an excuse to keep her afterschool. There were plenty of reasons why she should be getting detentions, tons of valid reasons. Drug possession, for example. But she never got caught for that. She was careful not to. She was officially convinced that Mr. Daniels just wanted to spend as much time staring at her as possible. It was creepy and it made her skin crawl uneasily. There he was, at the front of the classroom, looking at her over the tops of his glasses. Piercing blue eyes that seem to undress her every time he glanced at her. She looked up at the clock, noticing that it was about time to go. She prayed for the bell to ring. It did. She was free. She jumped out of her seat, without even sparing a parting look at the teacher, and raced from the class. _

_ "Hailey!" Someone yelled her name as she was walking through the parking lot. She turned to see Andrew Hayes walking towards her casually, smiling flirtatiously as per usual. He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest, "Another detention?" He asked._

_ "Mr. Daniels really loves giving them to me." She answered rolling her eyes._

_ "He's a creep." Andrew replied and sneered, "Anyways, we're having this party at my house tonight. I was just making sure I invited you."_

_ "Chris did already actually." She told him. She didn't really want to go to another one of his parties. They were always out of control, loud, the only reason she ever went was because of Andrew. Andrew had some strange fascination with her, he was attractive enough and he knew how to get his hands on the best coke in Miami._

_ "Well I don't want you to go with him, I want you to go with me." He winked._

_ "I said no." Hailey answered, "He's a douche anyways and you know I don't find any of those guys interesting."_

_ "How about me, do you find me interesting?"_

_ "Enough." She smiled and bit her lip. Andrew sized her up, running his eyes along the length of her body._

_ "You look hot today, no wonder Daniels gave you a detention." He leaned down to kiss her on the lips briefly, Hailey pulled away, "What's the problem baby?"_

_ "Don't call me that. Besides, I'm not your girlfriend." She told him. He nodded and looked away. His jaw was a clenched tightly and he looked like he wanted to say something badly, "What?"_

_ "I just wish you'd give me a chance." _

_ "I don't date drug dealers." She responded quickly._

_ "I don't deal." He said sharply, "Well not to other people, you know it's only you Hailey. I like you. We're good together." He put a hand on her cheek, "I like having sex with you. What else do you want?" Hailey just scoffed and decided that this conversation was over. She started walking away but Andrew was following her, "How about I give you a ride home?"_

_ "I'm not going home." She replied coldly._

_ "Where are you going then?"_

_ "Anthony's." As soon as she said it Andrew grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around._

_ "Why?"_

_ "Cause I want to." She furrowed her eyebrows, "And since when do I owe you an explanation for anything I do?" Andrew ignored her comment. He looked angry, "Aw, don't be jealous. You have nothing to worry about trust me. Anthony has absolutely no feelings for me whatsoever." _

_ "How do you know that?" Andrew snapped. Hailey wanted to tell him that it was because Anthony was gay. But she knew that she couldn't. That would be a major betrayal of trust, he was her best friend, and if she ever told anyone about his secret he would never speak to her again._

_ "I just do." She said, "And anyways, it doesn't matter what you think because you are not my boyfriend. I don't know how many times I have to say it before it gets through." She reiterated slowly._

_ "Fuck you Bennett." Andrew hissed. Hailey sighed and put and hand on his arm. He glared at her._

_ "Things are good between us right now, why do you want to mess that up by making us official? Why don't we just leave things the way they are for now, I mean, I like you." She smiled kindly, "And I'll see you tonight right?"_

_ "Yeah, sure." Andrew said, he looked a little deflated and popped a cigarette into his mouth. Hailey nodded at him and started walking towards Anthony's house. God know she could use his guidance. _

_Anthony was not impressed at all by her little dilemma. He didn't like Andrew at all. He didn't like the playboy attitude or the recklessness about him. He didn't like anything that Hailey was so attracted to._

_ "Don't go to the party tonight." Anthony advised, "You know what happens when you go to his parties. You know you always end up all drugged out and in bed with him. Then the next morning you can barely remember your own name. I don't know how you even know the sex is good if you can't remember anything."_

_ "Sex before drugs, that's how." Hailey smiled and was looking through his closet. She always kept a supply of clothes here that her mother wouldn't approve of, instead of hiding them at home. She started striping off her t-shirt and jeans and pulling a little black dress over her head._

_ "I know he's hot." Andrew said, "But I don't like where this thing is going. I don't like it at all. He's getting a little too into you." There was a long moment of silence before Anthony continued, "And I think you should tell the principal about Mr. Daniels." Hailey turned to him in an instant._

_ "They're not going to believe me."_

_ "The entire student body knows that he's got a thing for you and that he has no real reasons to give you detentions or to keep you after class. I'm just worried about you, I'm worried that one of these days he's going to try something with you." Anthony sighed deeply, "You're just too fucking nice looking for your own good." Hailey just laughed but Anthony scowled even more, "And you never take anything seriously."_

_ "That's not true!" Hailey protested._

_ "Yes it is." Anthony got up and put his hands on her shoulders, "Okay, forget about the principal, maybe you should tell your mom."_

_ "My mom is the most ineffective person in the whole world. She won't do anything." Hailey replied._

_ "Maybe her new boyfriend will." Anthony suggested, "What was his name again?" He asked. _

_ "I don't know, Declan or something like that. I was supposed to meet him tonight but… well anyways, I guess I'll run into him eventually." Anthony was examining her carefully. She looked back at him challengingly._

_ "He's not going to be like your father Hailey." He said seriously. She hated it when he brought up her father. He seemed to think that she wanted to talk about him, but she didn't. She didn't even want to think about him ever again. _

_ "I wasn't thinking about that." She whispered dangerously, "I just told Andrew I would go to the party and I plan on going. I promise I'll be careful okay?"_

_ "Just promise me you'll think about telling someone." He said firmly. She nodded in agreement and went back to getting ready. Anthony watched her wearily. He was more concerned about her then he let on, her erratic behavior, her dangerous choices in men, the parties, and the drugs. Sure, she wasn't addicted… yet. She hadn't been like this before though. She had been a nice, shy girl, a lot like her mother but now. Now she was different. And Anthony hoped that she would grow out of this phase quickly._

_The party went by in a blur. Andrew was sticking his tongue down her throat and she was finding it rather unpleasant. She pushed him off lightly and he started undoing her buttons. She lay back on the bed and let her head lull to one said. Everything was spinning and out of focus. She couldn't concentrate on anything. She vaguely felt hands touching her. She felt a millions miles away though. Someone was whispering in her ears but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Pumping music was engulfing her and she felt herself drifting off, she eyes slipping shut. _

_Andrew was getting frustrated. She was responding to him like she normally did. She was just laying there, staring into space, and it was pissing him off. He shouldn't have let her have a few lines before the sex. It was stupid and now she wasn't even paying attention to him, she was off in her own little world. He pulled her head upright to get her to look at him to find that her eyes were closing slowly. He panicked and started shaking her frantically._

_ "Hailey!" He screamed as he tried to wake her up but she wasn't waking up, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" He screamed. He was too afraid to check her pulse, what if she was dead? What if had killed her? He would go to jail for the rest of his life and besides that she would be dead._

_Suddenly she sat up with a sudden jolt. Her big eyes staring at him, confused. He almost started crying he was so relieved. He put a hand through her hair softly._

_ "What happened?" She mumbled and lay back down on the bed. _

_ "I don't know. Thank god you're not dead." He laughed shakily, "Fuck Hailey, I thought I lost you for a second." She didn't respond. She still looked extremely confused but he didn't try to explain, "C'mon, let's get you home."_

_He had never driven her home before but he knew where she lived, which was good considering how out of it she was. It was about one in the morning and he hoped that her mother wasn't still awake. Not that it was really his problem, he planned to just help her through the door and then be done with it and go back to the party. He needed to shake off the feeling of panic he had felt earlier when she passed out. Hailey seemed to suddenly snap out of it upon seeing her house. There were two cars in the driveway, which she didn't think too much of at the time. She looked over at Andrew and bit her lip nervously._

_ "Thanks, you know, for taking me home." She smiled a bit._

_ "No problem." He leaned over and pressed his lips against hers. They kissed for a while before she pulled away and got out of the car. A frown appeared on Andrew's face and he thought for a moment that maybe this girl wasn't worth his effort. He drove away into the night._

_Hailey hoped to god that her mother wasn't waiting for her. She knew what it would be like it she was and she was dreading it. The lights were on, that wasn't a good sign. She put her keys in the door and was not met with a pleasant sight._

_ "Where have you been?" Rita was trying very hard to shout. Hailey blinked. The house lights were practically blinding and she needed time to adjust, "Do you know how worried I've been? You were supposed to be home for dinner tonight." Hailey stared at her blankly. Finding it hard to process what was going on. _

_ "I'm sorry." She said and took off her jacket. Her mother just stood there, open mouthed, waiting for her to say something else. But Hailey didn't have anything else to say, "I forgot about dinner." She lied, breaking the awkward silence._

_ "Hailey…" Rita put a hand on her head and looked as if she was in pain, "You can't keep doing this." _

_Hailey caught sight of someone else's eyes fixed on her. Her head whipped around to see a man, attractive, brown hair, clean-shaven. She only assumed that this must be her mother's new boyfriend. She had to say, she was rather impressed. She hadn't been expecting someone that looked so… normal._

_ "Hi." He said._

_ "Hi." She smiled back at him. Her mother looked over at the man and sighed._

_ "Dexter, this is my daughter Hailey, I was hoping that you two would meet under better conditions but anyways…" Her sentence drifted off. _

_ "Nice to meet you." Dexter said rather awkwardly. Hailey just nodded and walked over to the kitchen to get some water. Interest, Dexter thought, she looked nothing like her mother. She was a much less subtle beauty, sexy, some would say. Nice curves, pretty face, and great legs… he had suddenly had an urge to cut her open, to hear her scream. He repressed it. He watched her as she walked over to the kitchen, her hips swaying gently. He then turned quickly back to Rita before anyone noticed. A smile crept onto his face. So this was the instant rush of sexual attraction. He had never really felt that before, even with Rita, "Maybe I should go." He said. _

_ "No, umm… it's okay. You can stay the night if you want, thank you for staying up with me." Rita said softly, glancing back at Hailey who was sipping a glass of water casually. She didn't look like she felt at all guilty for making her mother so worried, Dexter noticed. Hailey bounced back into the living room. The dress she was wearing was short and strapless, leaving little to the imagination._

_ "I'm going to go to bed." She told her mother._

_ "We are not done talking about this." Rita said, but Hailey had already walked away and a few moments later they heard the door slam behind her. Rita turned to Dexter, "She's not always like this I swear. She's been different since her dad… well you know." Rita looked ashamed, "He used to hit her like he did me and I just, I couldn't protect her and now I feel like I still can't protect her." Rita started crying. Tears, Dexter hated tears. He wasn't good at comforting people. He put her arms around her tentatively and stroked her hair._

_ "How about we go to bed. Everything will look better in the morning."_

_It didn't. Rita was still upset, even after Dexter had made pancakes for everyone. Hailey hadn't emerged from her room yet and he guessed that she was still asleep. The kids were excitedly talking about the events of their Saturday and Rita smiled at Dexter as she served them orange juice. _

_ "Dexter, do you mind going to wake Hailey. If you don't, she'll sleep like the dead until dinner time." Rita joked, a sad smile on her face. Dexter nodded once and walked down the hall to the furthest door on the left. He knocked on it hesitantly. He didn't know this girl after all. He couldn't just go into her room. _

_ "Hailey?" He called. There was no answer. He slowly opened the door and immediately wish he hadn't. She was there, in bed, asleep. The covers covered her lower half where as her upper half was completely exposed, clad in only a black bra. He stopped and stared at her for a moment. Not noticing when her eyes suddenly flickered open to look at him. It took her a second to grasp her surroundings. She saw Dexter and realized that he wasn't staring at her face but rather at her chest. She shivered slightly upon realizing that she didn't mind him staring at her like that, almost hungrily. It made her feel… good. It was then that he noticed that she was staring back at him. A mischievous smile crept onto her lips and she raised her eyebrow at him, intrigued. He was at a lost for words._

_ "Can I help you?" She asked, not making any move to cover herself up._

_ "Breakfast is ready." He swallowed uneasily and she laughed. She had a nice laugh, full and rich. God, Dexter felt urges that he had never felt before. The serial killer inside of him desperately wanted to see her struggle as he cut her open, where as the human side of him wanted to do something very different to her._

_ "Okay, I'll be out in a minute." She replied and he was stuck there for a moment. Before he finally regained control of his actions and turned around, walking back in the direction he came, closing the door behind him. Hailey giggled to herself. Maybe she was sick but she knew she was attracted to him. In ways that even she didn't understand. She thought that maybe she would go to the beach today so she pulled on her cute black and white polka dot bikini pulled under a pair of short shorts and a skimpy tank top, along with her gladiator sandals. She tied her hair into a high ponytail and grabbed her purse and sunglasses on the way out the door._

_She headed into the kitchen, purposely ignoring Dexter's prying eyes as she opened the fridge and bent down to pull out the orange juice._

_ "Hailey, are you going to join us?" Rita sounded surprised. Her eldest daughter almost never wanted to spend time with the family anymore. Astor and Cody loved their big sister, but they practically only ever saw her while she was walking out the door, "Dexter made pancakes." _

_ "I can see that." She grinned, "Actually I was thinking about going to the beach today. It looks especially nice outside today and I want to take advantage." At this time in the morning the girl looked almost innocent, Dexter observed, as if she had done nothing wrong last night._

_ "That sounds like a great idea." Rita chimed, "How about we all go?" Hailey's smile dropped from her face, Astor and Cody on the other hand, rejoiced at the idea. Hailey smirked. _

_ "What about you Dexter?" She turned to him all of sudden. She had blue eyes and sandy blonde hair like her mother, but her other features were a lot more rugged, giving her sex appeal, "Do you want to go to the beach?"_

_ "I don't see why not." He smiled as he met her gaze. Something passed between the two of them. Some sort of form of acknowledgement, perhaps they both understood that their relationship would never be able to stay strictly platonic. _

_ "Great." She smiled sweetly, her eyes never leaving his, "Let's go."_


	2. Chapter 2

**FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY**

The beach was exactly what Hailey needed, the warmth from the sun radiated down on her back, as she stretched out on the towel. Her mother and her siblings were playing in the water where as Dexter was laying right next to her, sunglasses covering his eyes but she could tell he was looking at her. She pretended she didn't notice, and enjoyed her magazine and music coming from her earphones. She was really into punk rock at the moment, one of her many phases of the last year. She flipped through the magazine, glancing at ad after ad before finally settling on an article about the famed Vera Wang, it was just getting interesting when cool fingers tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up and locked eyes with none other than Dexter who let his fingers linger on her bare skin a little longer than necessary. She pulled out an earphone to hear him.

"Tell me about yourself." He said simply. Smiling shyly at her she raised her eyebrows and lowered her sunglasses a little.

"What do you want to know?" She responded casually glancing back at the magazine, pretending to be interesting in whatever was on the page. Dexter paused for a moment and thought.

"I guess I didn't have any specific questions." He glanced at her and smiled.

"Okay, well I have a few." She flipped over onto her stomach and shook out her hair before staring at him dead in the eye, "My mom says you work for the cops."

"I'm a blood splatter analyst." He clarified. Her ears perked up.

"Really?" She grinned, "What's that like? I mean, it doesn't seem like the most pleasant of occupations."

"It pays the bills." He shrugged. She scoffed.

"Just when I thought you were getting interesting…" She mumbled and reverted her attention back to the magazine. Dexter didn't want to lose her interest so quickly.

"I like it. I know it's… odd. But I like working with the blood. It always tells a story." He said and she looked up again with renewed interest.

"You actually enjoy it?" She smirked, "I mean really, who likes working around blood? Isn't that something that people just have to get used to? My friend's dad was one of the people who clean up crime scenes. He said no matter how much blood and guts he saw on a daily basis, it never got any easier."

"I guess it takes a certain kind of person." He said quickly, looking away from her piercing eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Hey Bennett!" Her head shot up upon hearing someone yelling her name. Dexter narrowed his eyes at a young man, blonde, big smile, coming towards them. His friends were grinning too, hovering just behind him. Hailey tilted her head to one side and smiled, "New boyfriend?" The boy looked at Dexter with one eyebrow raised, "I thought I meant more to you then that." He joked. She stood up and walked over to him, smiling mischievously.

"And what gave you that idea Hayes?" She winked, placing her hands on her hips. He leaned in real close to her, almost pressing his lips to her ear.

"Don't tell me you were just leading me on last night?" He said and she shook her head innocently. He moved away from her slightly and his expression turned serious, "How are you feeling? Are you okay? I was really worried about you, you know, I tried calling like a million times but you never picked up." He frowned. Hailey shrugged.

"I left my phone at home." She explained and sighed, "You don't have to be so worried about me. I'm fine now."

"Good." He looked over at Dexter again, a bit suspiciously, "Who is that guy anyways?" He asked.

"My mother's boyfriend." She pointed at her mother and her little siblings playing in the water, "It's a family outing. I don't know why you seem to think that every time you turn your back I go out and sleep with someone new, but it's getting old really quickly. Besides, last night changes nothing, you're still not my boyfriend." It looked like that struck a nerve and Andrew ground his teeth together, glancing back at his friends who quickly looked away and pretended that they weren't listening.

"What's it going to take huh?" He raised his voice.

"I don't know Andrew." She stated simply and put a hand on his shoulder, "Let's not talk about this now, I just want to have a quiet afternoon with my family. Is that so much to ask?" Andrew scoffed and turned away he was about to leave with his friends when he turned around again and pointed a threatening finger at her.

"I'm not your lap dog okay? You can't just call for me every time you want to play and then expect me to just go along with it. One day you're going to realize that I'm the guy for you and it'll be too late, I won't be there to be at your beck and call." Hailey just rolled her eyes and walked back towards Dexter. Andrew turned angrily on his heels again and stormed off. Dexter couldn't help but smile at her as she sat down next to him again.

"What are you so pleased about?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. Her good mood was gone and his shameless grinning wasn't helping.

"That guy looks like a tool, you shouldn't waste your time with someone like that. You're too good for him." Dexter stated. Hailey's face softened and she let out a short laugh.

"Why are you do concerned about who I waste my time with?" She asked lying down on the towel again and slipping her sunglasses back into place. Dexter didn't answer. He just stared at the girl lying next to him. He soundlessly reached over and touched her arm. Not noticing that he was doing it, he traced patterns up to her collarbone. She didn't say anything. His hands got lower, hesitating right above the top of her bikini.

"I don't think you should be doing that." She said simply. There was no emotion in her voice, he couldn't figure out if she was angry with him or if she was enjoying it. He pulled his hand away slowly and they remained like that, in complete silence for a long time.

"I didn't mean to make your uncomfortable." He said, breaking the awkward pause in their conversation.

"You didn't make me uncomfortable." She snapped quickly, "That's why I don't want you to do it." She shot up off of the towel and tore her sunglasses off her eyes, dropping them to the ground. Without another word she walked towards the water and dove in to join her family. Dexter watched them splashing and laughing, enjoying the togetherness. She fit in so well, it was like she was a completely different person and he had watched the transformation with his own eyes. When she was in the water she seemed like a normal blissful girl, the girl he had been talking to not moments ago had darkness in her eyes, anger. There was a part of her that was damaged, broken, and yet there she was smiling and playing with her siblings as if she didn't have a care in the world. She put on a good show. Dexter thought that maybe she was a bit like him in her own way.

Hailey wasn't sure if he was watching her or her mother, but she felt his eyes all the same and didn't want to turn around and face him. She looked at her mother. Sweet, kind, and she didn't want to do anything to hurt her. And then she thought of all the things her father had done, how helpful had her mother been then? Some part of Hailey wanted to hurt her mother. Wanted revenge. Hailey slowly turned her head to meet Dexter's eyes. She winked, her lips turning up into a half smile. Before turning back to her family, her expression changing almost instantly.

**2 DAYS LATER**

Dexter revved the engine. Rita stood next to the driver's seat window. She look a little concerned, a frown on her delicate face.

"Are you sure that you don't mind?" Rita asked, "I usually drop her off after Astor and Cody, but today because of the appointment I can't. I hope it's not a bother, please just tell me if you really have to be at work or something." Rita always had this sense of guilt over asking Dexter for favors and always needed to thoroughly explain herself over and over again. Dexter wanted to roll his eyes.

"It's fine, I don't have to be at the office till later. It's even on the way so it's no inconvenience at all." Dexter assured her for the fifth time. Rita nodded and leaned in to kiss him quickly on the lips before backing away from the open window and going back into the house to get Cody and Astor ready. Dexter turned at the sound of Hailey opening the passenger seat door and sitting herself down next to him. Her skirt was just a little too short and Dexter found his eyes fixated on her long tanned legs as they stretched out in his car. Hailey cleared her throat and his eyes returned to her face, "Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." She smiled, "Thanks for driving me." She said.

"My pleasure." He answered automatically. They just looked at each other for a long moment before he finally started driving towards her school. She kept her eyes on the window before suddenly perking up.

"Take a right here." She stated and pointed to the street coming up. Dexter furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

"That's not how to get to your…"

"Just do it." She cut in, "Trust me." Dexter decided, what the hell? He was curious to see where she was leading him, she obviously wasn't in a rush to get to school and he wasn't in a rush to get to work. He wanted to know what she had in store for him. He turned right down a street he didn't recognize. It was a dead end and led to a forested area, some kind of park he assumed, since there was a clear path cutting through it. He stopped at the end of the road and she took that opportunity to detach her seatbelt and jump out of the car.

"Hey!" Dexter yelled after her and cursed under his breath as he followed her out of the car. She was just standing there, her arms crossed over her chest, smirking and waiting for him, "What are you doing?"

"I was thinking maybe we could go for a walk." She smiled innocently, "I know this place, it's nice, so c'mon." She waved him foreword impatiently. Dexter didn't move her just stared at her dumbfounded, "What?"

"You have to go to school and I have to go to work." He stated.

"Fuck school and fuck work. Just blow it off. It'll be fun." She was still smiling but Dexter wasn't quite as convinced. He had things to do, a new victim to track and get on his table. She saw his skepticism and moved slowly towards him. She placed a soft hand on his arm and looked up at him, almost seductively, "I know you're not the cookie cutter that everyone seems to think you are, I mean you're obviously not the perfect boyfriend anyways." She laughed, "You want me don't you?" She whispered. Dexter thought that maybe this was a dream and that he was going to wake up at any moment in a cold sweat. But he didn't.

"Yes." Dexter whispered back, he couldn't deny it. He was hungry, he felt almost like a predator, lost in his animal instincts. He wanted to do things to her, unspeakable things, feelings were coursing through him that he couldn't describe, things that he shouldn't feel for this young girl. A smile played at Hailey's lips and she once again turned away from him and started walking back towards the entrance to the secluded park. This time Dexter followed without hesitation, almost as if he was stalking one of his victims. She picked up her pace and started running. He ran after her, she was quick he gave her that but he was faster. Trees whipped by him as he chased her, quickly gaining on her, thinking that at any moment she would run out of energy and give up, but she kept on sprinting away from him. She turned to look at him briefly as she ran, she saw the dark and dangerous glint his eyes and for a moment she was slowed by the distraction. Dexter took advantage of the moment of weakness and tackled her. Pushing her into the bushes next to the path, "Gotcha." His voice was horse and he was panting hard from the running. She squirmed in his grip for a while, trying to get away but he pinned her down. Suddenly she stopped and started laughing.

"I knew there was something different about you." She grinned. Dexter was suddenly very aware of their positions. He was straddling her, her wrists restrained above her head, completely helpless and yet, she was smiling. She didn't seem to be at all afraid of him.

"You think this is funny." He barked, "You wanted to bring out this part of my nature and yet, you don't seem to be concerned about the consequences." Her smile dropped from her face.

"I just wanted you to loosen up Dexter. I knew there was something in you just waiting to get out. You're always so stiff around everyone, so reserved."

"Well I'm certainly loose now, Hailey." He hissed in her ear. He glanced down at her angrily, hungrily. He tried so hard to restrain his animal instincts, his base desires and now this girl was actually trying to undermine all that effort, to bring out the darkness in him. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her exposed neck, he kissed and then bit hard. She yelped. He moved his lips to hers, kissing her hard. Like he had wanted to before. She reciprocated eagerly, more eagerly than expected. He pulled back and releases her wrists, rolling over so that she was suddenly on top of him, "Why did you bring me here Hailey?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, "I thought it would be fun." She ran his hands down his chest, "I like you Dexter, I wanted to spend some time with you."

"Maybe we like each other a little too much." He sighed. There was no response from Hailey, she just hoisted herself up on her forearms and looked at him with her big round eyes. The intimate moment was interrupted by the sound of Dexter's cell phone ringing in his pocket. He lifted himself off Hailey and turned away from her to answer. It was Deb.

"Hey, we got a case, and I definitely think you should see this." Deb said ominously. She gave him the directions and Dexter agreed to meet her there immediately. He turned back to Hailey who was sitting on the grass with her legs crossed expectantly.

"I have to go." Dexter told her and she nodded, "Do you still want me to drive you to school?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Sure." She said and stood up, she looked perkier than he expected her to. She bounced over to him and gave him a genuine smile.

"Maybe we should talk about what just happened." He suggested but she didn't want to talk. She pressed her lips to his quickly. Entangling her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck as he kissed back a little more forcefully. They continued like that for a long time before she finally pulled away to place another quick kiss on his cheek. She turned back from where they had come and started walking back to the car without another word. Dexter was quick to follow her.

The car ride to her school was a silent one, though it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. He stopped in front of her school to find that they must be really late. Everyone was already inside, and the parking lot was practically abandoned of people. Hailey turned to Dexter.

"So, what does this mean?" She asked him.

"I don't know." Dexter responded truthfully. She smiled sadly, "Your mother can't find out about this."

"No one can." Hailey added. There was another long pause as they were both lost in thought before Hailey continued, "You don't seem to be the kind of guy that gets emotionally invested in anything and I'm exactly the same way." She told him, "So maybe, we don't have to read too much into this because there isn't that much between us. Except for the obvious physical attraction." Dexter nodded his head and contemplated what she had just said.

"So you're telling me that we should keep this on a purely physical level?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No what I'm saying is that we don't have to start analyzing anything yet." She smiled and gave him a final kiss on the cheek before hopping out of the car and heading into the building, without a second glance back at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**PLANS OF THE UNFAITHFUL**

Dexter's day at work was probably about as weird as Hailey's day at school. He spent all his time thinking about what had just happened between the two of them and it made him completely useless at work.

She, however, was much too busy to even give anything she had done that morning a second thought. In third period was study hall; Hailey was swarmed by girls who wanted her to sign a petition for their new cause or vote for them for something. The cheerleaders were the worst, especially since she was technically one of them. She had joined after her father left. The school guidance councilor who her mother had insisted see her regularly, insisted that she join an extracurricular activity. Hailey wasn't really good at sports or music but she was flexible. So cheerleading seemed the only viable option at the time. Plus she liked the way the uniform looked on her. She hated the actual cheering part, and most of the time she didn't even show up for any of the events but she did like the flips, the acrobatics, and of course gossiping with the other girls on the bleachers while they were supposed to be practicing. She had never once felt invisible in her life, but she had to admit that when she put on that uniform people immediately took notice of her. And it felt good, very good.

Andrew moved his hands up past her waist and up her shirt. His lips were hot on hers and her hands were entangled in his hair. She pushed his hands away quickly. She didn't want to encourage him any further. They were sitting in a deserted corner of the football field. No one was around, class had already started but she didn't want to go. She didn't want to attend Mr. Daniels' class because she knew that if she did she would get in trouble for whatever he decided she had done wrong and would have to stay in his creepy presence for another hour of detention. She pushed away from Andrew and looked out across the empty field. He looked at her curiously.

"You know, you should really tell someone about Mr. Daniels." He suggested, putting a cigarette to his mouth and taking a deep drag, "You shouldn't have to avoid his class like this, he's a fucking creep. You should tell the principal or the guidance councilor or somebody."

"Oh yeah? And who's going to believe me over him?" Hailey turned to him sharply, "He hasn't made a move on me or anything. What am I going to tell them exactly, he gives me too many detentions?" She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in front of her face as to not inhale the smoke, "You should quit smoking. It'll kill you, you know that?" Andrew ignored her and took another drag of the cigarette before blowing it up into the air.

"I say that it's only a matter of time before he tries something. I would want to do something about him before that happens you know?" He put his hand on her cheek and smiled, "I just don't want to see you getting hurt baby." She let out a deep sigh and ignored that fact that he called her baby.

"I can take care of myself." She told him with raised eyebrows. He just laughed and kissed her again.

"Sometimes you can be such a cliché." He teased she laughed too. She rolled on top of him and put her hands on his chest and she kissed him, ignoring the repugnant taste of cigarettes in his mouth. He cared about her, he really did, and she felt that maybe she hadn't been fair to him lately. He growled as she bit his lip and put his hands on her waist. All of a sudden Hailey got the unmistakably chilling feeling that someone was watched her. She pulled away from Andrew and looked around the disserted field, there was no one in sight. But she still couldn't shake the feeling, "What's wrong?" He asked her.

"I don't know." She shivered and he cupped her cheeks with his hands. He hummed softly and she smiled at him.

"You going to Kelley Blake's party tonight?" He asked her and she shrugged, "You should come, I promised I'd be there and it won't be any fun without you." She rolled her eyes, "C'mon Hailey, what's the harm? You have cheerleading tonight right? I can pick you up after and we can go from there." He told her, "You don't even have to change. In fact don't, I love that short little outfit on you. Fuck it's sexy, so easily removed…"

"Shut up." She said quickly, turning away to hide her blush, "If you drive me there, I'll just have to stop by and ask my mom, she flipped out last time I went to a party without telling her and I'm already on probation."

"Hey who would have thought Hailey Bennett had a good girl side." He laughed. The bell rang signaling that the period was over. Hailey gave Andrew one last fleeting kiss, before she stood up and winked at him then dashed off towards the school. Andrew jumped up and raced after her.

**LATER THAT DAY**

Dexter went over to Rita's house as planned, his mind still spinning from the morning's events. He couldn't concentrate on anything she said and used the excuse of work and all the stress he's been under when she asked him what was wrong. She suggested that he watch television with Astor and Cody as she made dinner and he obliged without hesitation. As he sat on the couch his eyes kept shifting towards the door in anticipation. He was sitting at the edge of his seat, tense at the prospect of her entering the home at any moment. Time went by, Rita was almost done dinner, and still nothing happened. He had just decided that she probably went out for the evening and was starting to relax went suddenly the door sprang open and in popped Hailey. His eyes widened when he saw what she was wearing, a cheerleading uniform. Too tight, too short, his rational mind thought, there is no way that outfit is appropriate for school. And yet… there was some part of Dexter that was more than a little excited to see her that exposed. She hopped over to her mother, without glancing at him, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey. I'm going to a party at Kelley's house, don't wait up k?" She said, more bubbly than usual.

"No." Rita said unexpectedly, "No, I want you to stay here and eat dinner with us." Her voice was firmer that Dexter even thought she could manage. He watched the exchange with fascination.

"Andrew's waiting outside in the car." Hailey said, "What am I supposed to tell him? We were supposed to go together."

"Tell him that he can come in and eat dinner with us." Rita replied smoothly. Hailey scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She thought about it for a moment and then suddenly seemed to notice Dexter's presence. She looked him over for a minute and then looked back at her mother before deciding.

"Fine." She smiled but it had an edge to it, almost as if she was plotting something. She skipped back to the door and went outside to talk to this Andrew. Rita had never met the boy before though she had heard her daughter mention him once or twice and Dexter's teeth clenched at their own accord. Hailey, however, was exhilarated at the thought of Andrew coming to dinner. She always liked stirring up a bit of chaos in her boring household, and she was positive that her mother would not like Andrew, not to mention that she wanted to get some sort of reaction out of Dexter. She told him the change of plans and surprisingly he went along with it without too much persuasion being required. Maybe he was really serious about wanting to be her boyfriend. She took his hand and laced her fingers around his as they walked into her house together. Andrew raised his eyebrows at her but didn't question it.

"Hello." Rita came rushing into the kitchen. She looked more flustered than usual, "You must be Andrew. I'm Rita, Hailey's mother." Rita introduced herself in a typical way and Andrew respectfully did the same. Dexter stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and tried not to glare daggers at the boy in front of him, "And this is Dexter."

"Hey." Andrew greeted him, "Yeah, I think we kind of met at the beach."

"Right…" Dexter said. Hailey was watching him carefully with a small smirk on her face. He couldn't say that he didn't want to murder her in that moment. She just skipped happily over to the kitchen. Dexter followed her with a scowl on his face while Andrew and Rita made polite conversation, "What do you think you're doing?" He spat into her ear as she reached up in the cupboard to retrieve a glass.

"I'm not doing anything." She told him. Feigning innocence. Dexter put his hand on hers and squeezed tightly, digging his nails into her skin, "Ouch." She tried to pull her hand away but his grip was firm.

"This is a dangerous game you're playing."

"Hmm… well what's life without a little danger?" She grinned, "Besides, I don't know why you're so upset that I brought a boy home. You happen to be sleeping with my mother in case you've forgotten."

"No. I haven't forgotten." Dexter put his fingers to his temple and looked down, "This is getting too complicated."

"Only because you're making it complicated." She told him smoothly, "Look, what happened this morning didn't mean anything. I took things too far, I don't know what got into me." She clicked her tongue and tried to move towards the refrigerator but he stopped her.

"It meant something." He said firmly, his voice rougher then she was used to. She smiled at the mere force of his words and bit her lip.

"Is that so?"

"Yes." He stated. She raised her eyebrows at him but didn't bother moving foreword with that conversation, knowing that it was pointless, "I don't want you bringing home boys to meet me." He moved closer to her and she felt his hot breath on her neck, sending shivers down her spine, "If you're trying to make me jealous it's working."

"Am I really that transparent?" She teased but didn't try to move away from him. Her eyes shot towards the living room, she didn't want anyone to walk in on this intimate moment, it would look bad. Dexter ignored her comment, his eyes traced over her smooth neckline.

"No, the last thing I could ever call you is transparent." He teased, "I couldn't get you out of my mind today."

"Really? And what kind of sick fantasies do you have about me?" She asked him, her eyebrow raised slightly. Dexter smiled, if only she knew how sick his fantasies really were…

"How about we reenact them later…"

"Well, well, well, look who's not afraid to show his dark side." She turned slowly, "I like it when you're like this." She remarked and laid her hands on his chest. She quickly withdrew them however and backed away from him, "But let's not talk about this now." Without another word she turned and returned to the kitchen. Dexter followed her shortly after and was met with Rita's prying eyes, he smiled rather casually, not really in the mood to show her much more affection than that. His mind was already swimming with possibilities of what he would do to Hailey once he got her alone. She seemed to be blissfully unaware of his dark thoughts, however, and engaged in a cute and normal conversation with the boy she had invited to dinner… he couldn't remember his name.

To say that dinner was awkward would be an understatement. Much to Hailey's dismay Dexter seemed to think that it was time to take over the role of her father… which was unsettling all on its own… and interrogate Andrew like he was a fucking murder suspect. It was scary, though Andrew didn't seem to really be caught off guard. He replied to each question smoothly and Hailey knew that he was charming her mother, winning over her gullible heart. It made her feel rather nauseous really. Dexter didn't seem to be too pleased either and after a while he just stopped asking questions and ground his teeth together angrily for the rest of the time. Hailey stayed rather quiet as well, though the kids had a lot to say as usual. Cody in particular had taken a liking to Andrew and was already making plan to invite him over so that they could play games together. God knows Hailey had never expected Andrew to be good with kids. She knew he was a charmer but really… he was perhaps taking this too far. He actually looked like he was enjoying himself.

After it was finally over she said goodnight to Andrew and he kissed her on the lips softly, promising that he would see her tomorrow. She just smirked and watched from the door impatiently as he drove away. She went back into the house to see that Rita was bidding goodbye to Dexter. He turned to meet her eyes.

"Dexter's just come up with the best idea!" Rita exclaimed, "You know how we've been fighting so much about our vacation plans to Disney world next week." She smiled sweetly. Hailey had made it very clear that she did not want to go to Disney world during her spring break with her family. However Rita didn't trust her enough to be left on her own over even with a friend, "Well he offered, extremely generously that if you really don't want to go with us, you can stay with him while we're gone. I'd feel much better knowing someone is keeping an eye on you." Hailey gaped at her mother before her eyes suddenly shot up to stare at Dexter. She tried to look as nonchalant as possible but it was difficult when her heart was beating so loudly in her ears. She swallowed nervously before nodding.

"Um… yeah, that would be great. Thanks… Dexter." She said awkwardly, forcing a smile onto her lips. Dexter's lips quirked up into a slightly off-putting smile.

"My pleasure."

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISTURBANCES**

He looked so _clean_. Wore a suit to work every day, always paid his taxes on time, no speeding tickets, won "teacher of the year" award at three different schools, taught disabled kids, he was a fucking saint. But Dexter wouldn't accept what the files told him. The files didn't show the true monster that breathed within this perfect illusion of a man. Matthew Daniels was a murderer, a cold-blooded murderer. He'd killed teenagers, to be more specific girls that went to his school, sick.

"Dex." Deb came into his office and he shut the report on Daniels immediately, "Hey there's um someone here to see you." He turned around with interest only to find someone he truly didn't expect standing there.

"Hailey." He said. Deb left the office quickly, looking a little bit confused as to why a teenage girl wanted to see her brother. He ignored that and focused on said girl who was grinning at him. Her sunglasses crowned the top of her head and she was wearing a loose white dress. She looked almost angelic with her blondish hair framing her face as it did, he was rather at a lost for words.

"Dexter Morgan." She licked her lips and twirled a lock of hair around her finger seductively. He was suddenly reminded of how far from an angel she really was. She walked towards him and her sandals clicked against the tiled floors, "Nice place you got here." She spun around and started looking at the décor of the office. Pictures of blood, a few files from cases that were still lying on the desk, bodies that didn't even make her wince, in fact she looked fascinated by all of it.

"What are you doing here Hailey?" He decided to speak up. Her back was to him as she was looking at a few of the photographs, most would find gruesome, that were pinned to the board on the wall, "I was supposed to pick you up at your house after work."

"My family left this morning, I didn't have anything else planned so I thought I'd save you the trip." She turned and winked at him, "Was that so wrong?" She bit her lip innocently. He rolled his chair over to her so that he was sitting right in front of her.

"I can't do this now." He hissed at her and she rolled her eyes letting her shoulders slump.

"I was just interested in seeing what you did for a living." She told him, "Can't you at least show me around and take me to lunch. I came all this way…" Her sentence faded off and he glanced down at his watch. He rolled his chair back to his desk.

"Sit over there." He pointed to the chair at the other end of the room, "Don't move, I'll be done in a minute and then I'll give you the tour." She sighed and retreated to the corner of the room. He brought up the file again and printed out his personal details.

"Who is that?" She squinted at the screen from where she was sitting, only able to make out the silhouette of a man.

"No one you would ever want to meet." He turned and smiled tightly at her. A shiver went down her spine inexplicably. The man on the screen looked somewhat familiar but she was too far away to see why. There was an edge to Dexter's voice that sounded almost, deranged. She shook it off and smiled at him when he got up and grabbed his bag, pushing the file into it quickly. She followed him out the door and ran into a few people who she had passed on her way in. One was a Hispanic older man, followed by an angry looking black man with his top buttons undone (which she didn't mind at all), and the woman who had brought her in, whose name she had gathered was Deb. The groups stared at each other without saying anything for a moment. Hailey felt that she was being seized up.

"I think introductions are in order." Dexter scratched his arm and nodded in Hailey's direction, "This is Hailey. Hailey, this is Batista, Doakes and my sister Deb."

Her lips formed into an _'O'_ when she found at that the woman was Dexter's sister. They didn't look very much alike. She greeted everyone politely but was quickly pulled away before anyone had the chance to ask how these two apparent opposites knew each other. He showed her quickly around the station, really there wasn't much to see before escorting her out and towards the beach for lunch.

They sat there in silence while she sipped on lemonade, looking out at the beach. Dexter was thinking about Daniels again, forming a plan in his head, but he knew he couldn't do anything until he had definitive proof that this man was a murderer. Hailey suddenly cleared her throat and turned her head to look at him. She noticed the far away look in his eye, but his expression wasn't peaceful like he was contemplating something pleasant, there was a twisted quality to it.

"Stop it." She said quickly, not liking the feeling his dark look was giving her. It was making her feel rather uneasy but she couldn't help but be even more attracted to him, in a weird sort of way.

"Stop what?" He was snapped out of his thoughts and he gave her a confused look. She just stared back at him with her eyes slightly narrowed.

"I don't know. Plotting, or whatever you're doing." She shrugged, "It's a little off-putting." He raised an eyebrow at her. Plotting? Dexter suddenly wondered how much this girl had him figured out. He leaned foreword towards her slightly.

"You know what I think is rather 'off-putting' Hailey? The fact that you are able to see darkness in me that no one else can, and you like to play with it. You know what I think; I think you recognize something of yourself in that darkness. I think that you're hiding something from me." He scrutinized her challengingly. She gulped and looked away quickly. Sipping on her lemonade again. The waiter came to take their orders and she smiled at the young boy as he flirted with her shamelessly. They finished ordering and Dexter shooed him away quickly, with an annoyed expression before turning his attention back on Hailey. She was tapping her fingers nervously against the table. He put his hand over hers to stop them. She looked up and bit her lip.

"Look this visit wasn't exactly random okay?" She admitted sheepishly. He motioned for her to continue, "Something's been on my mind recently and I don't know… I was doing some research at home this morning. Look it's been a while since my dad… well since he went to jail and I was looking up you know, domestic and sexual abuse charges and the thing is that they really don't last as long as they should. And if he gets out if he gets appealed on good behavior or something well—" She stopped talking suddenly. Dexter noticed how jumpy she looked and he sighed.

"Well there's nothing I can really do Hailey. I could look into it if you want but I don't know if that could really give you peace of mind." He rubbed her hand softly, "I don't know what to tell you, what you're father did was—"

"I want to have sex." She cut him off quickly, "With you." She finished. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Now?"

"Well no." She laughed looking around at the crowded restaurant, "I think that might be a little awkward. When do you get off work?" She asked, holding her breath.

"Why suddenly so eager?" He asked a little suspiciously. She just shrugged her shoulders and looked away.

"Wasn't sex always part of the plan? Wasn't that why you invited me to stay with you?" She asked and he continued to stare at her.

"Hailey." He said softly.

"Dexter." She replied in the same tone. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, realizing that there was no ulterior motives or hidden meaning. They both wanted the exact same thing.

"I get off work at five." He told her. He reached into his pocket and took out a set of keys, taking one off the loop and handing it to her, "Here's the key to my apartment." A smile formed over her face just as the waited came to bring their food.

**DEBAUCHERY**

She looked around the small apartment and smiled. What her and Dexter had was unnatural and probably extremely wrong but it wasn't going to stop her from what she was about to do. She had gone the store that after noon and had picked out some black lace lingerie that she knew that he would like. His room was nice and average and she hadn't bothered trying to make it more romantic. It was lust; she kept reminded herself, not love. This wasn't either of their first times so it shouldn't have to be special, right? Right, she kept reassuring herself. But for some reason she really wanted it to be special, for it to be different, to _feel_ different, then it did with any other guy. She couldn't shake the somewhat nervous tremors that she felt at the pit of her stomach. She knew Dexter was good in bed. She was kept awake sometimes by the sounds her mother was making… No, she definitely did not want to think about that right now. She shook her head and went to the kitchen to the kitchen and opened the fridge, there was nothing in the fridge except a dismembered Barbie doll, little bows tied around each piece.

"What the fuck…"

Dexter had left the office about an hour ago and was now tailing Mr. Daniels. He left his work, something was clicking in his mind about the school he worked out but he couldn't quite figure out what it was, and was making his way home. Nothing. Dexter cursed, he was hoping that the teacher would make an impromptu stop along the way but he decided that he would have to search his house the next day. Maybe he kept some memorabilia. Dexter made his way back the apartment, forgetting all about the girl who was waiting for him there. He walked in and threw his coat across his desk chair, stretching as he made his way the kitchen.

"Dexter?" He heard Hailey call. He smirked and walked into the kitchen. She was facing him with her arms crossed over her chest. She gave him an odd look as he entered.

"What is it?" He asked and she just pointed to the fridge. He moved past her to open it and he couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. The Ice Truck Killer had left him a message, a friendly one at that. He then realized why Hailey looked so confused. She must think him a psychopath now.

"Are you the Ice Truck Killer?" She asked without turning around to look at him, "I saw it on the news. What he does to the bodies. Wraps them up all clean, no blood. You're good with blood aren't you Dexter?" She swallowed. Dexter laughed humorlessly.

"You thought that the best plan of action if you found out that I was the Ice Truck Killer, someone who cuts people into pieces and puts them out naked for display, that the best course of action would be to confront me about it?" He asked. She opened her mouth as if to say something and then closed it again.

"I don't think you did this." She said after a moment of silence, "I don't think you even know who it is. But he knows who you are. I mean this isn't random, Dexter. He would have had to break in here to leave it. And that worries me deeply." She shook a little as she spoke. She kept glancing back to the fridge.

"You don't have to worry about it." He told her.

"What does that mean? Of course I do, what if you're his next victim? What then?" She yelled at him, tears forming in her eyes. He was confused about this new display of emotion, he had never seen her act like this, even when she was talking about her father she had remained virtually stoic.

"He's not going to kill me." He reassured her. She suddenly launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shirt, "Hailey…"

"How do you know?" She asked, "I really don't want to lose you. I don't know why I feel this attached to you, but you're different Dexter. You're different from everyone I've ever met before, I don't know how, but you are." He cupped her cheeks in his hands and lowered his lips to hers.

"I'm going to be fine, I promise." He told her calmly and she nodded once, without quite meeting his eyes. He kissed her again, this time a little bit harder and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She reciprocated and moved her hands to the buttons of his shirt, starting to undo them slowly. He couldn't wait that long and pushed her back forcefully into the counter and pulled at her dress hastily. He groaned when he saw what she was wearing underneath and attacked her neck with his lips, biting down every once and a while. She let her eyes roll back in her head a little and then pushed him off quickly. They were both panting, Dexter looked almost possessed at that moment, like he had pulled away from his kill.

"Hold on." She said and smiled. She slowly pushed her dress down and stepped out of it, "I want this to be special." She put her hands on his chest and bit her lip nervously.

"Umm yeah." His voice was horse, "Whatever you want." Hailey leaned up and kissed him again.


	5. Chapter 5

**PLEASURE**

Hailey's eyes fluttered open and she yawned and flipped onto her stomach unceremoniously. Dexter glanced over at her from where he was laying on his back. He had been awake for some time, watching her sleep, contemplating everything. Mulling things over in his mind. He was never one to be rash, to do things in the heat of the moment, and yet there was something about this girl that made him feel… human. Which made him prone to mistakes. She rolled over and smiled at him through drooping eyes, he smirked in response but didn't say anything. Last night had been, different, but in a good way. Their chemistry was undeniable. She filled his needs and desires while unselfishly taking pleasure in doing so. Her body was exactly as he had imagines and he took his time exploring every inch of her skin, with his fingers or his tongue. In return she had given in to his dominating nature, he liked that she didn't demand any control, such a shift from what she was like in real life. Needless to say sex with her was something he could never imagine getting tired of. As he was thinking he was getting more excited. There she was, naked, covered only by his bedspread, which could easily be removed. She stealthily moved under the covers a little bit more as if to shy away from him. Before she could even register what was happened he was on top of her, pinning her wrists above her bed and stopping her from any further squirming. She moaned not too quietly and he laughed and leaned down to kiss her.

"A little trigger happy this morning, aren't we?" She teased him after regaining her composure. Dexter grinned and pressed his lips fiercely against hers. As if on cue, Dexter's cell phone rang, he groaned and reached to get it.

"Deb." He sighed and picked up, "Dexter Morgan." He rolled his eyes as Deb started to talk, something about the refrigeration truck and hookers. As he talked, Hailey slipped from underneath him and went to take a shower, closing the door loudly behind her.

"Yeah, no it's no problem, call if you need anymore help." He hung up the phone and walked to the bathroom door, he shook the door handle angrily when it wouldn't open, "Hailey, unlock the fucking door."

"Language detective." She smiled as she opened the door, a towel draped around her body and her hair dipping water onto the floor. The water was still running in the background and steam was filling the room. Dexter pushed past her and stood in front of the mirror, picking up his toothbrush, she put her hands on his shoulders, massaging them sensually, "You're so stressed maybe we should finish this shower together." Her hot breath back, tempting him greatly, but he shook the thoughts away.

"Don't have time." He responded matter-of-factly, not even glancing at her in the reflection, "I have court."

"Ooh, can I come?" She asked, her thumbs still soothing out his knots.

"Don't be silly." He responded quickly. He thought on the topic for a second. The ice truck killer had easy access to his apartment, what if he wanted to play a little rough, would Hailey's body be the next one to turn up drained of blood? He clenched his jaw, "On second thought, you should come with me."

"What?" She seemed astonished.

"I think you can handle sitting in court, then we can take my boat out for the day, it'll be fun." He tried to seem lighthearted about it. Like he had no hidden motives in the plan. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Dexter Morgan, the blood splatter analyst, wants to have fun." She looked at him skeptically before turning him around so that he faced her, "What is this really about? Trying to keep me out of trouble?"

"Something like that…" He murmured and kissed her lightly before turning away from her, "You should finish you're shower, we have to leave in ten minutes." She nodded before letting her towel drop the floor and disappearing behind the shower curtain and the coat of steam. It took all the restrain he had left in his body not to follow.

Court was tedious as always.

"2103." Dexter stated.

"Give or take." The lawyer laughed.

"No, 2103." He reiterated. Hailey watched him, somewhat fascinated by how he acted in the public eye. He seemed to enjoy court, almost as though he liked watching the people desperately trying to be on their best behavior, as though they were being watched, which in his case, they were.

"Then it's safe to say, blood is your life." The lawyer said. Dexter glanced back at the judge.

"Safe to say." He responded with a small smile. _Well almost…_ Hailey thought to herself. The nice deep blue dress she was wearing was starting to stick to her in the hot courtroom and she had her hair fell in loose curls, as was always the case on humid days such as these. The look was completed with a simple black headband on top of her head. She looked, dare she saw, wholesome.

Finally, the case was over and her and Dexter left the courtroom together. He suddenly took notice of a family crying together on a bench, the young girl was leaning on her mother's shoulder as tears fell down her cheeks. Hailey was so anxious to leave that she didn't notice the tragic little scene. The man got up and Dexter saw nothing but opportunity, "Go wait in the car." He instructed her as he handed her the keys. She looked up unhappily but he was already gone, following the man into a different room. She crossed her arms and scowled but could do nothing about and went to wait in his car. She turned on the radio immediately and drowned out her worries with The Rolling Stones. Satisfied, if only for a moment, that Dexter had such good taste in music.

_Matt Chambers._ It was the only thought running through Dexter's head as he walked towards the car. Hailey was tapping her fingers on his dash along to music and she looked up as he opened the door.

"What took you so long?" She questioned, turning off the radio with the sharp push of a button.

"Don't take that tone with me." He warned. She rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat, "I was just finishing up some business, signing my statement, that kind of thing." He lied, "Now let's get some lunch and get out on the water." He smiled at her and she reciprocated the gesture a little begrudgingly.

"Ah!" She squealed as he splashed her with water. She had been peacefully floating on her back until she was suddenly brought out of her reverie by Dexter jumping in next to her, forcing her to sink back down into the deep, "Hey!" She swam over to him, laughing and hit him playfully on the arm, "A little warning would have been nice." Dexter just gave her that menacing grin and sunk back into the water, leaving only his eyes above water. Her eyes widened in mock fright and she started to swim away from him as quickly as possible. He was faster though and soon enough she felt a large hand grabbing onto her ankle and dragging her under. Her body was pulled easily back to his and she soon found herself encased in his arms. He pulled them up to the surface and planted his lips onto hers.

"Gotcha." He winked and she laughed. They shared one of those rare romantic and peaceful moments, just content to be in each other's company. It was ruined however two jet skis zooming past them, the teenagers occupying them laughing loudly and teasing each other. She sighed happily and immersed herself in water again before starting to float on her back, her eyes closed, she could feel the hot rays of the sun beating down on her. Dexter smiled and let her relax, his mind should be racing with thoughts of dismembered bodies and crying family members but he enjoyed watching her just float there. It was almost… normal.

Night fell and Hailey poured Dexter a glass of champagne to match hers. The view of the harbor was beautiful at night and the stars were shinning brightly above them.

"Cheers?" She laughed lightly.

"Cheers." They clinked glasses and sat across from each other. Dexter had picked up some Chinese food and the cartons made the night slightly less glamorous by she loved it. Dexter went to bed that night sweaty and sated as well with renewed hope. Maybe this girl was exactly what he needed. A peephole into normal life, in romance and sex and love and everything else he'd always been weary of. Yet she was tainted, like her mother and like him, in a somewhat incurable way. She rolled over and snuggled up to him in her sleep. He enjoyed the warmth that he body radiated, somehow it felt better than it ever had before with another woman. Like the predator he was, he could still feel the burning desire deep within himself to make her his prey. He stroked her hair tenderly before letting his eyes close by their own accord, pulling him into a deep and needed sleep.

**BUSINESS**

Hailey threw her bag over her shoulder and left school. Anthony was discussing his spring break in Havana and she was pretending to listen intently. Her mind was elsewhere though; her thoughts were mainly caught up with the tall dark and handsome man who she had spent a blissful last week with. She was suddenly pulled out of her reverie when Anthony grabbed a hold of her hand forcefully and pulled her to a stop. She looked up, a little astonished, her eyes fixed on his face. His expression was suddenly stone cold and his eyes were narrowed, she followed his eye line until she saw it. Her heart stopped.

"Hailey!" He called for her, Astor and Cody sitting in the back seat. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She vaguely felt Anthony squeeze her hand and she tried to control her erratic breath. She ignored him and kept on walking down the sidewalk, "C'mon Hailey, we're going to the carnival." She heard her siblings squeal in delight. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to meet her father's eyes dead on. She ground her teeth together fiercely.

"You shouldn't be taking the kids." She spat at him. Paul didn't look fazed he appraised his daughter with a cool demeanor.

"I left a message with your mom and everyone's really excited to go. Aren't you guys?" His voice rose into a more upbeat and amicable tone when he addressed Astor and Cody, "It's a family outing. So why don't you jump in… we can go on all the roller coasters just like we used to." He turned back to the kids, "Your sister here wasn't afraid of anything!"  
>"Why would I be scared of some stupid ride when I had a dad like you at home." Hailey turned away from the car and continued walking as quickly as possible, not turning back as she ducked back around the side of the school that she had just come out of. Anthony called after her but she started running and didn't stop until she ran into someone. She stumbled back a bit. Tears were already rimming her eyes.<p>

"Ms. Bennett." The man she had bumped into cleared his throat and it took a few moments before Hailey realized that it was Mr. Daniels.

"I'm sorry." She muttered and kept her head down. She wanted to move past her least favorite teacher but he was blocking her way.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes, fine, just a… family disagreement. I'm sorry I really need to go now." She quickly pushed past him as she began practically jogging. She wasn't going home. She didn't know how she was supposed to head home when she knew that she would see her father there again. She had never wanted to see his face again. Not after what he did to her… to her mother. She had stayed awake with nightmares for months after he was sent to jail. She didn't know exactly where she was going but in the back of her head she had a destination in mind. She just kept on running. Hoping to get away from whatever monsters were chasing after her.

**I get a lot of hits for this story but like no reviews! I'm done with school now so I have tons of time to update so PLEASE REVIEW! Love you. **


	6. Chapter 6

**LOST AND FOUND**

Rita was still pacing the living room, worrying endlessly about her kids. Dexter tried to calm her down but to no avail. Finally the door opened and in entered Paul, Astor and Cody. Rita was livid, angrier than he had ever seen her before. However, the one thing that Dexter noticed about the whole ordeal was the Hailey wasn't with them. The last Bennett family member was still missing. Rita was hugging her kids tightly and talking to her husband about calling the police. Paul gave some excuse about leaving a message for her at work. Dexter wasn't really paying attention. It was late, really late, the sun had long gone down and Hailey hadn't called him or her mother, nor had she mentioned anything about a party the night before.

"Where's Hailey?" He asked Paul. The man looked up and narrowed his eyes at him in confusion, he looked at Dexter then back at Rita, gritting his teeth in the process. Rita looked up, suddenly remembering her oldest daughter's absence.

"I dropped by her school and tried to get her to come with us but she ran off." Paul explained, "You mean she didn't come home?" He sounded worried, but Dexter felt that it was all an act. Rita looked at Dexter worriedly as he pulled out his cell phone. He turned away from the group and dialed the familiar number. The call went directly to voicemail.

"Her phone is off." He told Rita.

"What did you say to her Paul?" She accused her husband.

"I didn't say anything. She was seemed really angry and then she ran away, you know she was with that Anthony kid, I bet she just went to his house." He suggested. Rita went to the phone and announced that she would be calling Anthony's mother.

"I think it's time that you go." Dexter said coldly and practically pushed Paul out of the door, "We've got everything under control here." Paul opened his mouth as though he was going to say something but thought better of it. Instead he said goodnight to his kids, promising to see them again soon and then left. Dexter slammed the door and went over to Rita who was speaking with Anthony's mother.

"Okay, well thanks anyways." She hung up the phone, "Anthony said he hasn't seen her since she ran off, there wasn't any party tonight that he knows of but he promised to call if she contacted him." Dexter remembered the look on Hailey's face when she talked about the possibility of her father getting out of prison. She looked… scared, tainted by the memory of her past, afraid that history would repeat itself. He grabbed his keys off the counter.

"I'm going to go look for her." He told Rita.

"Dexter, that's sweet but you really don't have to. It's okay just go home, Hailey always pulls stunts like this. She proves her point and then she comes home." Rita put a hand on his shoulder, "It's nice that you're so worried about her, you two must have really bonded over the holiday." She smiled and if Dexter could feel guilt he would be feeling it now.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." He replied.

"Get some sleep Dex, I'll call you when I hear anything." Rita assured him and he nodded and said goodnight, walking to the door. When he left he knew that the first place he would go was home. There was a chance that she had gone to his apartment since she still had a key. It wasn't such a long stretch. He revved the car engine and sped back to his place, running up the steps and throwing the door open.

"Hailey? Hailey!" He called out as he threw the door open. Nothing. She hadn't gone there. He sat down on his couch and closed his eyes, massaging his temples as he tried to think. Where would she go? Where would she feel safe? It hit him like a ton of bricks and his eyes shot open. _I know this place, it's nice so c'mon. _Her voice rang over and over again in his head. He jumped into the car and took off again towards the place he knew he'd find Hailey. The park, where he had first kissed her, chased her, caught her. The place where he first felt that someone finally saw through his façade and saw the darkness he was desperately trying to hide. He got out of the car and made his way down the dark path, he had grabbed a flashlight from his glove compartment and shone it in front of him, "Hailey…" He whispered. He reached the spot where he had tackled her to the ground but she wasn't there so he continued. He had never gotten to the end of the path back then, they hadn't made it that far, but now he saw it. It bordered a river and picnic tables were set up so that families could have lunch there. She was sitting on top of a rock, dipping her feet in the water, "Hailey…" He said, a little louder this time. He turned off the flashlight and walked slowly towards her. He noticed that she was shaking when he put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched away from his touch.

"Mom used to take me here when dad came home drugged up or drunk and angry. We used to sit her and watch the river flow. It was soothing I guess. I always felt like this was my safe haven. Mom stopped taking me here when I got older and I think she tries to forget that there was a time when we ever needed to escape. We keep trying to run away from the past but it keeps coming back." She looked up at Dexter and he could tell that she had been crying, "I almost died Dexter, he beat me within an inch of my life with a baseball bat and now he's just out. Maybe if I had died he would at least still be in prison." She buried her face in her hands and sobbed, "I hate him. I hate him so much, for what he did to me, for making me so afraid and untrusting of everybody around me. I used to dream that he was dead and that I was finally free from him. I can't get over it Dexter, I just can't. There's something in me, something dark and it's pushing me to think these thoughts…"

"What kind of thoughts?" He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"That I shouldn't get close to anyone, that I need to keep taking the drugs, that my mother should have protected me and that I can never forgive her for failing to do so, and all these things are forcing me towards self-destruction." She cried. So _Hailey's dark passenger pushes her to hurt herself_, Dexter thought, _interesting when mine wants me to hurt others_, "I started… cutting myself in the ninth grade, then I got bored so I moved on to an eating disorder and now it's cocaine. I don't know why I do this to myself!" She screamed the last part, "What did I do to deserve this?" She was looking to Dexter for answers but he didn't have any.

"Nothing, you didn't do anything." He told her and she put her head on his shoulder, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

"I thought about going to your apartment but I was embarrassed." She admitted.

"Don't be." He whispered, he soothingly started to untangle her hair with his fingers, "You never have to hide from me Hailey."

"I know." She sighed and moved away from him, "I don't want to go home tonight." Dexter looked at her and smiled. He stood up and offered her a hand. She took it and straightened herself up as well. She suddenly threw herself at him, wrapping her arms securely around his neck and pressing her lips to his shoulder. He stumbled back a little, taken aback by her outburst of affection, "Thank you Dexter. You know, I don't think this is the place where I went to escape my father anymore." She shook her head and looked up into his eyes, "No, now this is _our_ place. It can be a safe haven for the both of us now." He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She sighed happily as he pulled away and started leading her back on the dark path towards the car.

**THE NEXT MORNING**

Hailey stretched out on Dexter's bed. It was Saturday morning and she when she woke up she had this overwhelming sense of being _home_, really home, as if for the first time. She smiled and snuck out of the bed. Dexter was still sleeping peacefully beside her. He seemed completely worn out. She tiptoed to the kitchen in his button up t-shirt and pulled out some bacon and eggs, as well as started the coffeemaker. His shirt smelled good, it smelled like him, and this warm feeling crawled up her spine when she was wrapped in the scent. She danced around the kitchen making breakfast like she used to for her siblings those days right after Paul went to prison and her mother just couldn't get out of bed. When everything was done, she poured the coffee in a cup and put the eggs and bacon (as well as some strawberries and oranges that she had found in the fridge) on a tray. She was more than relieved to see that the dismembered Barbie doll parts were absent from the freezer. She went back into Dexter's room and set the tray on the bed before climbing on top on him and placing butterfly kisses all over her neck and jaw. Dexter groaned and blinked a few time languidly before stretching and really opening his eyes.

"Hailey?" His voice was hoarse and he looked more than a little confused.

"I made you breakfast." She smiled and nodded towards the tray. Dexter turned and saw the array of food. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Why?" He asked aloud. She narrowed her eyes at him. She hit him on the arm, "Ow, okay, I'll eat it, no questions asked." She gave him a wide smile before muttering something about a shower and disappearing into his bathroom. He sipped the coffee as he tried to process what had just happened. _Women_, he thought, _I'll never understand_.

The phone rang about an hour later while Hailey was comfortably watching TV on Dexter's bed while he was working on his laptop. It was Deb calling to tell him that she had found the refrigeration truck that the ice-truck killer was using and begging him to get his "motherfucking ass down to the crime scene fucking now". He bit back an excited grin and jumped up from his seat. Hailey turned to raise an eyebrow at him. He wordlessly got up and left the room. Hailey followed, clicking the TV off as she went.

"They found the ice-truck killer's truck." He told her and she nodded once, "You need to call your mom now and tell her that you're safe." He reached into his pocket and turned on his cell phone for the first time since the night before, "Shit, she's already tried calling me five times."

"Only if you take me with you." Hailey quipped.

"What?"

"To see the truck. If you take me with you then I'll call my mom." She said, "Look Dexter, you've obviously got some… strange connection to this psycho and I want to see what it is about him that you find so fascinating."

"I don't find it…"

"Save it, I see the way your eyes brighten every time there's any movement on the case. I just want to know what all the fuss is about that's all." She said it so innocently that Dexter was at a lost for words, "So we have a deal?" He sighed deeply but found that he couldn't argue with her.

"Fine." He grabbed the keys and pulled her by the hand out of the apartment, "Tell you're mom that you spent the night at a friends house and that you plan on staying there for the weekend, no details, no names. Just say you're not ready to come home yet but you're safe." He instructed her as they sped towards the car.

"Okay, okay, just let go. You're crushing my hand." She whined. He released her and got into the driver's seat. She pulled out her phone and called the familiar number. Her mother was frantic. She started yelling out questions as soon as she picked up. Hailey tried her best to calm her mother down but only ended up yelling back. Hailey said everything Dexter had told her to and then hung up in a hurry.

When they arrived at the scene, Deb was waiting for them impatiently. Dexter asked Hailey to stay in the car but she refused and jumped out before he even had the chance to protest. She walked over to Deborah confidently and stuck out her hand.

"I'm Hailey, I think we met before, informally." Hailey gave Deb a big smile, which Deb returned a little uncertainly. Dexter ran up behind her.

"Deb this is Hailey… she's uh..." He tried to come up with something on the spot but he was still flustered from running after her.

"Fascinated by forensics. It's not at all like you see on TV. Sorry I'm so eager, I'm just a big science geek I guess." Hailey said smoothly. Lying directly to a cop is usually daunting for people but Dexter was taken aback by how flawless her deception was. He might have even believed her if he didn't know better.

"Is it okay, if she tags along?" Dexter asked, "I kind of made a promise." He said, sounding a little sheepish.

"Dexter we don't know what's in that truck. This is the fucking Ice-Truck Killer after all… he's one sick fuck." Deb replied.

"It's okay, I don't have to have a first hand look if it's too gruesome." She smiled shyly. She stood awkwardly on the sidelines as Dexter, his sister and some hat wearing Hispanic man opened the back doors of the truck. She could see the cold air come out in a sort of cloud and a few curse words from Deb. After a moment in the truck Dexter stepped back and waved her over. She quickly walked over and peaked inside the truck. All that was in the truck was a solid cube of ice with a decapitated hand sealed inside. Hailey was truly fascinated by the whole thing. The cops were thoroughly confused by what the hand was supposed to symbolize as they started to defrost it. Finally they got a good look at the hand and Hailey stepped back in shock. Memories of when she had opened the fridge that night in Dexter's apartment flashed in her mind. The doll's nails, they were painted with the same colors, in the same pattern, as the hand. She looked up at Dexter with wide eyes and knew that he had come to the exact same revelation. Hailey turned on her heels quickly and scurried away. She wasn't scared or disgusted by the dead body part but she was terrified of what it meant. How was Dexter involved with the killer? She was smart enough to know that it wasn't random. Dexter turned to find that she was gone. He looked around the crime scene before finding her sitting in the passenger seat of his car. He got in.

"Hailey…" He started.

"I'm scared Dexter." She admitted.

"You have nothing to worry about."

"Yes I do!" She screamed. He was taken aback by her rage. She collected herself a little before continuing, "Of course I do. This Ice Truck Killer, he's targeting you Dexter, you should be just as worried as I am." She looked at him searchingly, "Unless you enjoy this."

"Enjoy what?"

"The game that he's playing with you." Hailey answered. Dexter looked away from her scowling, "You do don't you?" She laughed humorlessly, "There's this darkness inside of you Dexter, I've always been able to see it but it's always looked dormant to me, until now. What does the Ice Truck Killer see in you that I can't?"

"Hailey you're being ridiculous."

"No look at me." She demanded, "I know that you're hiding something, some dark secret that you've probably kept for a very long time, something to do with these murders… with this murderer. It seems almost personal. I don't know why but I'm going to find out."

"Don't do this Hailey." His voice was low but controlled. He started the engine and pulled away from the crime scene, moving through the abandoned streets of industrial Miami.

"Why don't you just tell me Dexter?" She questioned.

"Because it's none of your goddamn business okay? You're not even my fucking girlfriend!" Dexter snapped. Hailey flushed a deep shade of red and turned away from him. Dexter took a deep calming breath before speaking again, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"No, you're right I'm not." She said quietly. Dexter put his hand over hers and interlaced their fingers.

"I wish I could be." He told her. He wasn't sure if it was entire true but he wanted to make her happy.

"I wish you could be too." She admitted, completely certain that her words were one hundred percent true.


	7. Chapter 7

**TEASINGS AND TRUTHS**

Life was becoming a problem. Hailey was becoming increasingly withdrawn and simply absent. In school, she still studied, still took notes, still passed her tests and finished her essays. From an academic point of view she was a good student. Timely, quiet and smart. She stayed somewhat involved in extra-curricular activities. She went to parties. But now she only sipped at the beer she was handed, she didn't cut lines anymore with Andrew anymore nor did she fuck him. He was confused, angry, and eventually he just told her she was too much fucking effort and he didn't need her anymore anyways. She was fine with that. She didn't even really hear him anymore. Hailey felt numb. Her father would show up at her school more often then not. Sometimes with her siblings, sometimes bearing gifts but mostly just with empty apologies. She spent a lot of her nights at her college friend's apartment. Anna was a freshman at the University of Miami and she was hardly ever home. Hailey found a little peace in the solitude. She didn't have to see her mother or her father or Dexter. Ever since the Ice Truck incident she had only seen him around the house with her mother. She was always in and out of the house so fast that he didn't have time to corner her. She kept thinking about the hand, what it meant, what it said about Dexter, and most of all what it said about her. She wasn't afraid of whatever Dexter's dark secret was, the opposite in fact, she felt more attracted to him then she ever was. And that scared her. She just needed to clear her head, but the conclusions she had come to only made her most uncertain of the future.

Hailey flipped her hair over her shoulder as she walked through the parking lot, up to the apartment building that she had become so accustomed to. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. He was leaning against his car, squinting in the bright sun. To the average passerby he looked casual, but she knew that it was all a façade. She could tell that he was pissed off.

"I haven't seen you around in a while. Your mother said that you were staying here with a friend." Dexter was staring at her intensely. He took in her wet hair and her beachwear, a black bikini, covered by a light yellow sundress. She bit her lip and looked away from him, "Aren't you going to say something?"

"Like what?" She shook her head lightly.

"Like why you're avoiding me." He suggested.

"I just needed to think." She answered calmly, not betraying any emotion in her voice, "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to figure some things out. You know, by myself."

"Anything you'd like to fill me in on?" He demanded as he advanced on her. She was going to start walking away again but he grabbed her by the shoulder before she got the chance, "Hailey, is this over?" He caught her face in his hands and forced her to look at him, "Just tell me."

"No!" Her emotions were starting to flood to the surface now and she became flustered, "I mean, I don't know, I don't know anything anymore."

"What happened to you?" He asked brushing her cheek with his thumb gently, "When we first met you were so confident of what you wanted. It was so sexy, you had no reservations." He chuckled.

"But that was when it was all about lust Dexter!" She tried to push him away when tears started to fill her eyes but he was kept his grip on her.

"And that's not what it is now?"

"Is that all it is for you?" Her voice sounded almost shattered, "All this. It was all about sex."

"No." He said simply. He was out of his depth now, "Just tell me what's wrong. Tell me and maybe I can fix it." He sounded so hopeful that Hailey had to smile. She shook her head sadly.

"Nothing's broken." She kissed him on the lips quickly, " But Dexter I need you to do something for me okay, it's really important and it means everything to me okay? If this was _acceptable_, if we could be together, you know without anyone judging us or condemning us. Would you leave my mother for me?" She asked.

"Yes." He breathed and in that particular moment, he meant it. He had been going out of his mind without her. Without her in his bed, the warm soft presence beside him as he slept or in his shower when he woke up. He felt almost lost. Sure he had tracked down and killed a murderer. That felt good, it always made him feel a little more at ease. But he had still felt that something was missing, "You need to understand Hailey, you aren't part of my desperate attempt to seem normal. You're special. You've awakened feelings in me that I long since forgot, not all of them good." He thought about how he had felt the primal need to kill her, to slice her into pieces, when he had first met her. How he was predator and she was the prey. However, those initial desires were now replaced with the conquering need to protect her, "I need you."

"I need you too." Hailey pushed her mouth against his in a rough kiss. He pushed her back against the car and trapped her there as she bit down on his lower lip, drawing blood. Completely forgetting their surroundings, Dexter moved his hand up her leg, under her dress and grasped her ass, pulling her in closer viciously. Hailey moaned and felt her knees going weak. Dexter's hand was now in between her legs and moving its way upwards. Her nails were digging into his neck and she didn't think that the kiss could get any deeper or anymore forceful. It's like they had to prove their real need for each other now. Dexter's fingers were rubbing against the base of her bikini bottom and if her mouth wasn't covered by his she would have yelped. In the back of his mind Dexter registered the sound of a car screeching to a halt but it wasn't enough to make him pull away from the young Bennett. Suddenly and without warning he was pulled off of her and pushed to the ground. He was still a bit in shock when he heard someone above him shouting.

"Get the fuck away from my daughter!" Dexter made out Paul's looming figure above him and grit his teeth. _Fuck_, he thought, "You fucking creep! Does Rita know you're fucking our daughter huh? Sick fuck, taking advantage of a vulnerable young girl like that!" Dexter sprung up quickly to face Paul head on.

"I'm not the one who took advantage." He spat, "I'm not the one who beat her to a pulp when she was a child. I'm not the one who left her sleepless for years, tortured by nightmares of you getting out of prison, of her mother screaming while she hid under her bed helplessly." Paul was stunned for a moment. A thousand thoughts were going through Dexter's head. _He knew._ Hailey was visibly cowering against his car. Dexter could feel his animalistic side taking over. His dark passenger was becoming increasingly convincing and in the heat of the moment Harry's code wasn't enough to stop him. He lunged at Paul and pushed him to the ground. Hailey's father had no chance against such an experienced and ferocious predator. Her whimpers soon turned into screams as Dexter beat Paul's head into the pavement, effectively knocking him unconscious. He jumped over to Hailey's side and placed a bloody hand over her mouth, "Shhhhh… shut up. Do you understand me? This is what you wanted." He hissed into her ear. She didn't move, "Help me get the body into the trunk." Dexter instructed and she nodded. He released her mouth and she numbly helped him haul Paul into the back of his SUV. He then ushered the shell-shocked girl into the passenger seat and buckled her in. Hailey was shaking uncontrollably. She couldn't feel her hands and her heart was beating out of her chest. She looked up at Dexter as he got into the driver's side and revved the engine. When she could finally control her voice, she spoke.

"Is this it Dexter?" She whispered, "You're dark secret?" Her breaths were coming more rapidly, "Do you kill people?" Dexter ignored her question, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Just stay calm Hailey." He told her, "Everything's going to be okay." Hailey just shook her head, making herself as small as possible in the passenger seat. They arrived at an abandoned shack that Dexter had used as a kill room a few months back. Usually he wouldn't use the same place twice but desperate times called for desperate measures, "Stay here." He told Hailey.

"Why?" She squeaked. Dexter turned to look at her sharply for the first time since their kiss.

"Because I don't want you to see me end your father's life." He knew he had to do it. Paul knew about him and Hailey. He would tell Rita and it would destroy their relationship forever. It would tear apart that family once and for all and there would be no going back. _Hailey_, he thought,_ I need to do this for her. She needs her family, as unwilling as she is to admit it, and it would kill her if she lost them. _Harry's code was at the back of his mind, he knew that his foster father would not approve of his decision but Paul was far from an innocent man. He had hurt people, tainted lives, even if he hadn't ended any.

"I want to come." Hailey spoke up, "I want to see it."

"No." Dexter replied as calmly as possible.

"He ruined my life!" She screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks, "He beat me then he left me for dead! He doesn't deserve my sympathy or grief. He doesn't even deserve to live! You have no idea how many times I wished, dreamed, that he died in prison." She spoke through her sobs, "Please, I need closure." Dexter didn't have time to think it through with a clear head. He sighed and nodded once in acceptance before getting out of the car and popping the trunk. He dragged Paul's body to the shack and placed him on the long table in the middle of the room. Hailey stood back as he covered the room swiftly in some plastic sheets and wrapped Paul's body to the table in what looked like saran wrap. _He's done this before_, she thought miserably,_ many times._ Dexter just kept thinking about how lucky he was that he had all his equipment in the car, ready for another kill when he had gone to see Hailey. Once he was done with the room he heard her clear her throat to draw his attention, "Please explain this to me Dexter. Because I don't understand." She hesitated, searching for the right words, "You're a serial killer?" Dexter knew that Paul was going to wake up soon so he had to hurry if he was going to tell her his entire sob story.

"When I was little I watched as my mother was butchered by a chainsaw. It sparked a darkness inside of me, one that I could never shake. When Harry took me in he saw this darkness and he found a way that I could control it. I kill people, but only people who have killed others."

"Murderers…" Hailey breathed.

"Exactly." Dexter replied, "Harry taught me how I could survive like this without getting caught. He taught me how to blend in, showed me the benefits of being normal." There was a long silence, "He gave me a set of rules, a code to live by. I have never deviated from it. Well not until now."

"My father." She whispered looking down at the man on the table, "He's not a murderer, he hasn't killed anyone. By killing him you are breaking your father's code." Dexter nodded in solemn agreement. There was a long silence before Hailey spoke again, "But if I killed him…" Her voice trailed off as she contemplated the idea for a moment, "Then you won't be breaking your code." Dexter looked at her with disparaging eyes. She sounded like a broken little girl. She wanted revenge so badly that she was blind to the consequences.

"Hailey's he's your father." Dexter reasoned, "You're not strong enough for that."

"How do you know?" She asked, "Dexter, he isn't yours to kill." Sudden purpose filled her eyes, "Maybe I was meant to meet you. Maybe this is why we met. I am weak, but you can make me strong."

"I will not turn you into a murderer." Dexter spoke firmly.

"Dexter…" A stray tear fell down her cheek, "He _knows_. We can't let him go now. It's too late. And you can't break your father's code. It's too important to you. It's kept you alive." She said and put a gentle hand on his cheek, "I won't let him break us."

"I'll break the code for you, just this once." He said.

"You'll have to." Hailey answered taking a step away from him, "Because after I do this I don't want to end up on your table next. Even though I'll technically be a murderer." Then before he could react she had grabbed the largest knife he had off the table and plunged it into her father's throat. Paul opened his eyes and let out a muffled howl of utter horror and pain. Hailey watched with morbid curiosity as the life drained out of her father's eyes. Dexter suddenly tackled her and wrenched the knife from his hands.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He yelled, "Why did you do that?" He shook her vigorously, his eyes aflame with incredulous fury.

"Because I love you Dexter." She screamed. He stopped shaking her, his arms went limp to his side, "I couldn't let you do it and I couldn't let him rip us apart. What other choice did I have?" There was a crazed look in her eyes, "You saved me from myself and in return I fell for you. Every part of you." She leaned her head against his chest and listened to his pounding heart, "Please Dexter, I see you now and I still want to be with you. I _see_ you." Dexter pressed anxious kisses to the top of her head, getting lost in his words. She understood. It was all he had ever wanted, for someone to understand. She had killed her own father to be with him, to help him. She was _it_. Everything he had ever wanted, all the desires that he had never said aloud, culminated into one beautiful girl.

"I'll show you how I dispose of the bodies."


	8. Chapter 8

**BEGINNINGS AND ENDS**

Hailey left the hairstylist feeling light. Liberated even. The Hailey Bennett that everyone knew was gone, she had been replaced the moment she had driven that knife into her father's neck. She was irreversibly altered for better or for worst. And this new Hailey needed a new look. As she stepped over the threshold into her home she knew that the conversation she was about to have was going to be difficult. Her mother had been crying for the past 3 days, blubbering about how she didn't understand. How could she? Her boyfriend of almost a year had just up and told her that it was over, no real reasons to offer meager explanation as to why. Of course Hailey knew why, it was the same reason that she was leaving. Her heels clicked against the wooden floors as she walked up to the couch and stood in front of her sniffling mother.

"Mom." She spoke slowly and softy. Rita raised her head from the couch, "I'm moving out." She said firmly, "I'm going to go live with my friend and I'm not going to come back." Then without anything else to say, Hailey went to her room where her bags were already packed. Screaming and crying could be heard from the living room. Rita sprang from the couch and came running after her. But Hailey was strangely unaffected by the scene. In fact, she couldn't care less, "I don't belong here." She told her mother as the woman grabbed her arm, "I never did and I hope you understand that. I love you mom. I love you so much and I'm grateful for everything you've done for me. That's why I can't stay here anymore." The house was quiet after that and Rita let go of her arm, her searching eyes trailed on Hailey's face. Looking for answers that she would never find, "I'm going to be okay and so are you. You'll be better off now, you don't have to worry about me anymore." She grabbed her mother by the shoulders and looked her square in the eyes, "Mom, we're going to be alright. We're survivors right? Everything's going to be okay now, you have to trust me." Then she walked out the door. Suitcase in hand that carried everything that she would need. Anthony was waiting outside in a beat down Ford.

"What have you done to your hair?" He asked with an incredulous look on his face. Hailey just shrugged, "Well whatever you did it looks _hot_. Like I mean that baby doll, you look like a whole new person."

"That's the idea." Hailey answered with a smirk on her face, "Just drive okay, I'll tell you where you can drop me off."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Anthony asked glancing back at the house where Rita was still standing, shell shocked, on the front porch, "Move out? All for some guy you hardly even know."

"I know him." Hailey answered, facing directly in front of her, "I know him better than anyone else in his life and he knows me, maybe even better than I know myself actually." I laughed humorlessly, "I've changed Anthony and I can't stay in that house anymore, not with those people who don't even really know me. They can't see me the way that he does. If you're really my best friend then you'll understand that."

"I get it Hailey." He said with a sigh and revved the engine, "I just didn't think that it was so serious is all. I didn't even know you had a boyfriend until you called me yesterday and asked me to help you pack. It would have been nice to get some notice you know?" Hailey nodded and they continued the rest of the drive talking about mundane things, like school and boys and who was a flaming homosexual and who wasn't. She leaned back into the car seat and allowed the useless chatter to calm her, lull her into a false sense of normality because she knew that as soon as she exited the car things would never be the same again. Anthony dropped her off at Dexter's apartment building after swearing on his life that he would never tell anyone where she had gone. He didn't know the connection but someone else would. She dragged her suitcase up the flights of stairs before tiredly knocking on the door. It opened only a moment later, Dexter stood there in nothing but a towel and a pen hanging from his lips. He looked at her as if he almost didn't recognize her for a moment but then smiled lightly.

"The hair looks nice." He complimented her and then took a strand and moved it through his fingers, "You look good as a brunette." Hailey smiled and blushed, looking down at the ground.

"I needed a change I guess." She confessed and she wheeled the suitcase alongside her into the apartment.

"This isn't enough of a change?" He teased and helped her bring the large bag to his room. Then after they had successfully laid it on the floor of the closet he tackled her onto the bed. His towel was off in mere seconds and she was taken aback by how domineering he was being. He pulled her shirt off of her as well as her bra and started circling her nipped with his tongue. She moaned quietly but tried to push him back a bit.

"Wait." She panted, "You're going too fast." He grasped both her wrists in one of his large hands and flipped her onto her stomach. She squirmed around on top of the sheets as he hands her hands behind her back.

"I like it like this." He answered and used his free hand to remove her skirt.

"Dexter!" She cried out, "Wait!"

"I've waited long enough." He proclaimed but before he could move any further she used her feet and kicked him in the stomach, forcing him back a bit. Dexter was winded for a second before rage overtook him. Hailey turned onto her back and pushed herself towards the backboard of the bed, "Was that really necessary?" He asked with one eyebrow raised, crawling over to her again on the bed.

"You were acting like a savage." She told him flatly.

"I thought you liked me like that." He laughed and put his head on top her knees so that he was looking up at her. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She then moved so that she was on her knees and moved on top of him, straddling his waist.

"Yeah, I do." She moved her hands down his chest sensually, "It's just that sometimes, I want to have a little control to, you know?" She looked at him straight in the eye and he smiled up at her.

"Now that's something I understand, completely."

Hailey was lying on her stomach mid afternoon flipping through a magazine when she got a phone call. She grabbed the phone from the bedside table. Dexter was at work, writing up some kind of blood spatter report for about a cop who shot some guy he saw on the street. The same cop who had been practically harassing him for as long as he worked for the Miami police. She had opted out of going to school that day, in another desperate attempt to avoid Mr. Daniels class as well as cheerleading and the now really pissed off Andrew. She checked to make sure that it wasn't her mother when she answered the phone, it wasn't but she recognized the number immediately.

"Hey." She said into the phone, "How's work?"

"I just got a very interesting letter." Dexter said. He was sitting on his desk looking down at the manila envelope in his hand, "Apparently my dad's dead."

"Is that news?" Hailey laughed, "Last time I checked he's been dead for quite awhile."

"My biological father." Dexter reiterated, "According to this he's left me, his only kin, a house."

"I thought you said that your real dad was dead too?" Hailey asked, confused. They had just had a very long and very complex conversation about his extremely complicated family history. He had told her all about Harry, how close they were, how he saw him sometimes when he needed advice or was in the middle of identifying a target. She had found it very interesting if not slightly off-putting.

"He is. This man made some kind of mistake. But anyways I still have to go up there and figure things out with the morgue. You know, it's due process. Thought you might want to tag along for the ride, we'll leave tomorrow morning and we should be back by nightfall. Might be fun, hitting the road. Clearing our heads." Dexter said. He could see his sister raise an eyebrow skeptically at him from where she stood at the door. She didn't approve of him breaking it off with Rita, he didn't even want to know how he would react if she found out he was living with his ex's daughter.

"Oh yes, going to visit some dead guy. Sounds like oodles of fun." She said sarcastically, flipping the page of the magazine. She rolled her eyes and looked up from the pages, "Should I pack a bag or something?"

"Yeah, probably, you know, just to be safe." He answered, nodding at his sister as she entered his office and sat in the chair next to him.

"Fine." Hailey said, "Oh, I made reservation as La Rosa for 8 okay? I thought it would be nice to have a night out." Dexter didn't understand her need to go out and experience the city at night but he didn't argue.

"Sounds good." He answered, "I'll see you soon." He then hung up the phone to face Deb, "Hey, what can I do for you?"

"Who was that on the phone?" Deb asked.

"My girlfriend." Dexter smiled. He liked calling her that. It made him feel almost free to talk about his relationship.

"You and Rita got back together?" She asked excitedly but Dexter just shook his head. Deb's smile fell off her face as she looked at him with scorn, "You moved on that quickly!"

"It's not like that." Dexter answered, "I met someone, I didn't want to cheat on Rita so I ended it. Now, I'm free to be with whomever I want." Deb just shook her head and changed the topic quickly. She offered helping him clear up the whole mess with his so-called dad but he refused gracefully. The last thing he wanted was his sister tagging along on his "romantic" road trip. Deb eventually left the room and Dexter was left to his thoughts. He had let someone into his life, even the grimy parts of it. It was a new feeling for him, knowing that he trusted someone with his secret. It was almost, liberating. But he had gotten so sidetracked recently that he hadn't been able to nail down the evidence for his homicidal schoolteacher. He wrote down the man's address and decided to swing by on his way home from work.

Hailey picked out a cute short dark blue dress for the night and started on her hair and makeup. She curled her new dark brown locks into loose waves and let them frame her face. She was almost done getting ready when she heard the front door open and close.

"I'm home!" Dexter called.

"You're late." Hailey walked out of the bedroom to meet him, "We're going to be late if we don't leave soon. Where were you?" He could have told her that he had spent the last couple hours routing through his next victim's home. Looking for evidence, very well hidden evidence but evidence that he had found nevertheless. But he didn't. He didn't know why he still felt as though he needed to lie to her, even though she practically knew everything. But he did.

"LaGuerta had me stay late to finish a report." He lied and she sighed and pursed her lips. He looked her over and smiled, "You look nice." She leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed him quickly.

"Thank you. Now go get changed." She winked at him as she moved out of his way. He smirked and went into the bedroom, leaving the door open behind him. She slipped on a pair of black heals and went to the kitchen to pour herself a drink to ease the shaking. She didn't want Dexter to see her tremble. She didn't want to explain that only 5 minutes ago she had looked at herself in the mirror and didn't recognize the girl staring back at her. They were the same eyes and the same facial features but they looked… hollow.

Dinner was a quiet affair, as were most things when Dexter was around. Dexter was reveling in the silence, he finally felt comfortable enough with someone that he didn't feel the need to talk. She however was shifting uncomfortably in her chair and downing drinks that she wasn't legally aloud to have.

"Hey, you should slow down. They haven't even served the appetizers yet." He put a hand on top of hers. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Sorry, you're right." She pushed the drink away from her and squeezed his hand, "So tell me, when you look around this restaurant what do you see?"

"What do you mean?"

"You must be good at reading people, choosing the ones capable of murder from the innocents. How do you do that?" She asked.

"There's just something different about someone whose killed before. There's something a little bit dark in their eye." He answered, "You can see it too. I know you can. You saw it in me." He reached across the table and cupped her cheek in his palm, "And now I can see it in you." Her face darkened a little and she pulled away from her. Resting her hands firmly on her lap and staring down at them.

"Yeah, right." Her voice suddenly sounded sad.

"I'm sorry." Dexter apologized. He was unfamiliar with the guilt that came from killing one's first victim. He didn't see it in many of the people lying on his table nor did he ever feel it himself, "I shouldn't have said that."

"No." She shook her head, "It's true. I'm just not used to it yet, I guess."

"You will be." He said just as the waiter came and placed food in front of them. Dexter quickly dug in, Hailey, on the other hand, didn't feel all that hungry anymore. Dexter grunted in approval, "Good." Hailey nodded and took a hesitant bite out of her salad. He was right. It was good.

By the time they reached desert Hailey the alcohol had kicked in. She took exited bites out of a piece of cheesecake as she talked quickly about anything and everything. Dexter thought that she was kind of cute when she was drunk, but if she didn't shut up soon he would have to duck tape her mouth and tie her down like his targets.

"Anyways, so I decided that I want to go to a university here you know? I guess I made that decision mainly because of you and I did apply to tons of other universities around the country but you know I had never thought about staying at home at all before you. In fact the opposite, I was excited to get as far away from home as possible. I mean. I even applied to Queens. You know where Queens is? Fucking Canada." She giggled, "Can you imagine me in Canada? With the snow and the politeness. No. But I was willing to go if it was between there and Miami. I had my mind set on literally anywhere but here." She stopped for a moment to finish off her food, "But now everything's changed. I can see myself staying here, with you. I mean, the future actually looks pretty clear for once, well in this regard at least, I still have no idea what I want to do with my life." Dexter nodded automatically and tried to look as if he was engaged in what she was saying. As soon as the waiter passed he asked him to bring the check, and quickly, "You know what? We should go dancing. I know this great place like literally like half a block away from here. It's outside and right next to the beach. We've never been dancing before."

"That's because I cannot dance." Dexter spoke seriously.

"That's okay." Hailey grinned, "I'll teach you."

**PLEASE REVIEW! Also, I need help figuring out where this story is going. I know where I want it to end up but middles are the bane of my existence and I NEED YOUR HELP!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning: This chapter is rater M for a mild sex scene.**

**PSYCHO KILLER**

"I can't seem to face up to the facts." Hailey tapped her hands against the dashboard along to the music as she sang along, "I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax." The road trip was just beginning and she had opened the windows to let the wind ripple through her hair, "I can't sleep cause my bed's on fire." The music was blaring and Dexter was smirking in amusement while staring ahead of him, "Don't touch I'm a real live wire." Hailey pretended she was playing the guitar, "Psycho killer, qu'est que c'est. Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa better, run run run run run run run away!" She collapsed into hysterics after that. Dexter raised the windows and lowered the volume a bit.

"Are you done?" He asked with an eyebrow raised, she nodded and smiled brightly at him, "Good, so now let's get back to why you refuse to tell me about why you've stopped going to history class."

"Look, just because I changed my emergency contact number to yours instead of my mothers' doesn't mean that you have any right to pry. I can make my own decisions and I have my own reasons. Reasons that I do not need to discuss with you."

"Hailey, you need to go to school. You need to get a good education and you need to go to university. It's what regular people do." He scolded. She rolled her eyes at him.

"I am plenty capable of keeping up in school and pulling off good marks without attending that particular class. I've been getting notes from other people and I go in whenever there's a test or an assignment due." She answered, clearly annoyed, "I don't see why my presence in necessary." He decided that it was best not to argue and let the subject go until she piped up again, "And for your information I don't even want to be a _regular person_ as you put it. I don't have this need to fit in like you do. Then again I don't kill people on a day to day basis so I guess I don't really have to pretend I'm something I'm not, yet." Dexter didn't respond he just kept his eyes planted firmly on the road ahead of him. Hailey sighed after a moment and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Look I'm sorry, I didn't mean to belittle your way of life or anything. You never have to pretend around me, you know that right?"

"Yes." Dexter lied. He knew there were some things that he still couldn't tell her, some thoughts that were still to dark for her to hear.

"I love you Dexter." Hailey confessed as she pressed kisses to his neck. He smiled faintly and enjoyed the feeling of warmth as he drove. She closed her eyes and listened to the music in peace until she decided that she was hungry and they had to pull over.

"I thought junk food was the unwritten rule of the road?" Dexter asked as he watched her take careful bites out of her salad, while he chomped on a burger.

"Not if you want to keep taking road trips without taking up two seats." She scoffed and took another bite of salad.

"C'mon you're too skinny already." He teased, "Take a bite, here." He held the food in front of her face as she laughed and shook her head, "It's just a bite. It can't hurt. You're not going to blow up like a balloon upon swallowing." She gave in and took a bit out of the burger. She had to admit that it tasted really good. She gave up on the salad and reached over to grab his french-fries.

"So this kill you're working on…" She started casually. He looked up abruptly, "C'mon you really think I bought that you were working late all the time?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "Dexter… I thought we were bring honest with each other."

"We are."

"No, I am." She argued, "You're not." He didn't even acknowledge her really.

"It's nothing that you need to be concerned about." He stated and she knew that it was the end of the conversation. She scowled at him and stood up grumbling something about going to get another drink under her breath. When she came back Dexter had finished eating and cleaned up their table, he was twirling his keys around his index finger impatiently as she sat down again, "We should get back on the road."

"Fine." She agreed and they walked back to the car, she grabbed his hand on the way and interlaced his fingers with her own. She didn't look at him while she did it was a meaningful gesture. They were together. No more hiding. This was real. He planted a kiss on the side of her head and held the door open for her. She smiled gratefully and got in, almost shivering at how casual it all seemed, how comfortable. She had never been in the comfortable stage of a relationship before. She always assumed that it was boring but it wasn't. It was nice.

They arrived at the house about an hour later. It was a pretty nice place, not really the kind of place she wanted to live in though, too suburban and wrist-slittingly dull. An old woman emerged from the house across the street and started shouting something about neighbors and gutters. Dexter smiled and dismissed her politely then quickened his step in front of her to unlock the door. The décor was definitely that of a man. It was musky and filled with old memorabilia of bowling achievements. The furniture was tacky and old.

"God Dexter, obviously terrible taste doesn't run in the family."

"He's not my father." Dexter replied firmly. Hailey wandered around the room and looked at the various trinkets and the odd photo of a bowling team.

"We're going to have to clear this place out. Nobody else is going to do it." She commented and picked up a trophy dated from a year ago, "He was a Florida state championship bowling running up. That's pretty impressive, you should be proud." She laughed and put the trophy down. Dexter sighed.

"I'll go to the morgue tomorrow and settle things but you're right, someone has to get rid of this useless junk." Hailey walked over to where he was standing, holding up one of the pictures of his so-called dad. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his back.

"Whose to say in the mean time we can't have some fun?" She pulled away from him and he spun around to look at her. She was slowly unbuttoning her cardigan and pulling her hair out of the high ponytail. He approached her predatorily, his eyes devouring her hungrily as if he was about to pounce. He reached foreword and jerked her to his body but she just smiled and put a finger to his lips, shaking her head lightly. She pulled him over to the well-worn couch and pushed him onto it. She then went over to the record player and picked something out with a smirk. _I've been really trying, baby. Trying to hold back this feeling for so long._ She giggled as she turned back around to face him. He had an eyebrow raised at her as she stood in front of him. _ And if you feel like I feel baby. Then come on. Oh, come on. _She swayed her hips to the music rhythmically as she pulled her tank top over her head. _Let's get it on. Ah babe, let's get it on. _She slipped out of her skirt and straddled him in only her underwear, his hands moved up her back sensually as she continued to give him a lap dance. She pushed his head back forcefully and he looked up into her eyes. _Let's love baby. Let's get it on, sugar._ She bit down on his bottom lip before moving her attention to his neck. He groaned and tried to pull her closer to his body. She grinded against him, her hands moving down to rub him through his pants. _We're all sensitive people, with so much to give._ He growled as she undid his zipper and slipped her hand inside. Suddenly he'd had enough, he pushed her aside and pulled off his own clothing before pulling her under him on the couch in one swift movement. _Understand me sugar, since we got to be, let's live._ She was about to ask him if he had a condom but he surprised her but ripping away her underwear and thrusting into her without any warning. She bit her bottom lip hard, probably drawing blood. _I love you._ She moaned out his name as he pounded into her, without any regard for her at all. _There's nothing wrong with me loving you. _Dexter's quick movements to pull her legs over his shoulders made them crash to the floor. Her moment on top was short lived however as he forced her up and onto her hands and knees. _And giving yourself to me can never be wrong if the love is true_. The song ended much before he was done, but eventually Dexter was satisfied enough with her body for that moment to cum inside of her. He fell beside her, exhausted. She was lying next to him very quietly. The only sound from her for a long time was that of her shallow breaths. He was about to ask her what was wrong when the sound of the doorbell interrupted them. They both turned around and looked at each other, confused.

"Might be one of the neighbors with condolences or maybe a noise complaint." He winked at her as he stood up and pulled on his jeans. The person at the door was persistent and kept knocking. He grabbed a blanket from the couch and threw it over her. She wrapped it around herself and lay on her stomach. Her elbows propped her up so that she could see the entranceway clearly.

"Dexter." A tall man with curly black hair greeted.

"Hey." Dexter answered a bit hesitantly. Then he saw his sister come out from behind the man and hug him. The man's eyes met Hailey's shocked ones on the floor and her face turned bright red. He smiled kindly and turned back to Deb.

"Hey, why don't we go get the stuff from the car." He suggested and pulled her out the doorway, giving Hailey enough time to grab her clothes and find the bathroom. She changed quickly, brushed her hair and washed her face clean of any other evidence. She heard talking from the other room but was rather scared to go out there. This was Deb, Dexter's sister. Whether she remembered their brief encounters before was still unknown. But she did know that this was the first time that she was being introduced to the woman as Dexter's girlfriend. The girlfriend who broke up the relationship that Deb had set up. That Deb had rooted for and still did. _Great_… Eventually she worked up the courage to go out and meet the family. Dexter, who had put his shirt back on beckoned for him to join the three of them on the couch. She sat down beside him and he slung an arm around her neck.

"Hi." She greeted Deb and the man who she assumed was her boyfriend.

"Hailey, this is my sister Deb and her boyfriend, Rudy." Dexter introduced them, "Deb, this is my girlfriend Hailey."

"The girl from the Ice Truck Killer crime scene?" Deb almost spat out her glass of water, "What are you like 16?"

"18." Hailey mumbled under her breath. Deb's eyebrows shot in the air.

"18! Fucking 18 years old! Are you fucking with me right now? You're dating a high school student? She's young enough to be your motherfucking daughter Dex! She's a fucking kid for Christ's sake!" Deb yelled in disbelief. Hailey narrowed her eyes as her warningly.

"I can make my own decisions Deb and I definitely don't need any relationship advice from you." Dexter replied coldly. There was a moment of tense silence in which no one even moved as the two siblings glared at each other. Hailey cleared her throat.

"Awkward…" She said and then got up from the couch, "I think I'm going to go see if there's any food in this house."

"I'll join you in your search." Rudy said and quickly and jumped up to follow her into the kitchen. Hailey leaned against the counter and sighed, tilting her head to one side as she looked at Rudy. He was sort of handsome, in an unconventional way.

"So… this is weird." Hailey stated bluntly, "Like this is a really dysfunctional couples weekend." Rudy laughed.

"Yeah, it was a big mistake to come. I'm sorry." Rudy gave her an apologetic smile, "But it's nice to meet Dexter nevertheless. Deb talks about him all the time."

"You guys haven't met before?" Hailey asked.

"Nah, me and Deb haven't been together all that long. But I guess it's getting pretty serious now." His eyes widened for emphasis, "I thought it was time to meet the brother… any tips?"

"He's…" Hailey searched for a word that would describe Dexter, "Distant. I think it's hard for him to let people into his life, but once he does... it makes you feel special." Rudy took her in. She was good looking, he would give his brother that, but what it was that really attracted him to the girl was still a mystery. He liked puzzles.

"Good to know." Rudy replied. Hailey opened the fridge to find it practically empty, except for a couple of beers. She took two out and tossed one to Rudy, "Aren't you underage?"

"Shut up." She shot back with a smirk.

"You know there's a cop in the house right?"

"You're funny." She giggled. They continued to chat and drink the beers in the kitchen. Occasionally the sound of Deb screaming could be heard from the next room. It stopped eventually though and they both decided that it was time to go back and face whatever awaited them. The two siblings were sitting together on the couch, a good distance away from each other in complete silence. Rudy was the first to speak up.

"You know we should start clearing this place out." He suggested, "We'll probably be here all weekend as it is."

"You know you guys really don't have to stay all weekend, me and Dexter can handle most of the stuff. Don't feel like you're obligated or anything to stay." Hailey answered with a small smile.

"Yeah you'd like that wouldn't you." Deb shot back, "This is so fucked Dexter. This is so fucked up." Dexter sent her a glare to silence her.

"I wouldn't mind staying. As long as we're here, may as well stay for the long haul." Rudy grinned. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled back at him. Deb hesitantly agreed and Dexter just nodded his head in acceptance.

"Okay well, I'm going to order some Chinese food if that's cool. I found some takeout menus in a drawer. Anybody else want anything?" Hailey asked. Before Dexter could even open his mouth, "I already know what you want. You're so predictable Dexter." She teased. Deb gagged.

Hailey sipped at her and leaned against the kitchen counter. Dexter had gone to the morgue to hopefully clear this whole misunderstanding up so that they could get the fuck out of this place. Should his sister and his sister's new boyfriend had not been present on this little expedition then she might actually be enjoying the downtime with her boyfriend. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Deb suddenly entered the kitchen. She turned sharply to meet Hailey's eyes.

"Morning." Hailey greeted, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. Deb rolled her eyes and moved to the coffee pot with a grunt. Hailey sighed, "Look I know you don' t like me. I know that Dexter's last girlfriend was like a saint and all but—"

"No buts, she was a saint and you're an 18 year old girl!" Deb exclaimed, "You should be out partying with other high school kids instead of spending the weekend with a man cleaning out a dead man's house."

"Look." Hailey slammed her hand down on the table, "I am not just an 18 year old girl. If I were then I sure as hell wouldn't be dating your brother. Okay?" Deb was silent for a moment and Hailey lowered her voice, "You don' t have to like me or understand or anything like that, but I love him. And you're his sister and he cares about you and what you think so I really hope you'll get past all this because I'm really not that horrible a person. I promise." Hailey frowned and turned on her heels to go outside and get some air. She wasn't feeling the whole stuffy and dusty house so early in the morning. It was really a drag without Dexter. Rudy came out from down the hall and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked like the yelling had woken him up and he was still half asleep.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Just for a walk." She answered, "I'll see you later." She said as she disappeared out the door. The girl had a mouth on her, he'd giver her that. He had talked to Dexter about her the night before on their late night encounter.

_"So what is it about Hailey that's so special?" Brian asked and Dexter didn't answer for a long time._

_ "She sees me, for what I truly am and she doesn't judge me, doesn't try to change me." Dexter had answered._ Dexter's answer had made Brian wonder if Hailey really knew everything, if his brother had entrusted the girl with his dark secret. It was a possibility, no matter how unlikely it seemed. He would have to keep a close eye on her.

**I had the hardest time on this chapter. Seriously I've been working on it for like ever. Finally it's done and hopefully the next one will come out a lot better and a lot faster. So please leave SUGGESTIONS and reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**The Monster I've Become**

Hailey was drawing circles absently in her notebook waiting desperately for the bell to ring. She didn't know why she had bothered coming to school at all. Everybody knew about her father and they looked at her and whispered amongst themselves as though they were worried that she was going to break down at any moment. But of course she couldn't care less. She had her hair up in a loose ponytail and her nails were painted blood red. She examined them now absently and glanced up at the clock.

"I'm sorry Ms. Bennett, am I boring you?" Mr. Daniels asked from the front of the class mockingly. She looked up at him and shook her head innocently.

"No, not at all Mr. Daniels, sorry." She apologized quickly, not wanting to give him any reason to make her stay after class. He turned to the board again and started writing and speaking in that booming and rather intimidating voice of his and Hailey mind drifted away again…

_"Well that was fun." Hailey quipped as they started their long drive home to Miami, "You found out that your biological dad is dead and that your adoptive dad is a liar, and your sister found out about us." Hailey crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, "Really romantic getaway Dexter, thanks." Dexter rolled his eyes and ignored her, gripping the steering wheel tightly, "Good, now you won't even admit that you totally fucked over my weekend…"_

_ "Hailey, this has got to stop now." Dexter shot back angrily. She had been bitter and cold towards him ever since his sister showed up and he wasn't sure why. She ground her teeth together, "What's wrong?"_

_ "Nothing." She mumbled._

_ "Tell me!" He shouted at her. She flinched considerably and took a deep breath, "Tell me now before I do something that we'll both regret."_

_ "I'm just…" She put a shaky hand through her hair, "I'm coming to terms with the fact that we're really together." She lied, "Like now that your sister knows, everyone's going to know. She might even tell my mom. I mean she doesn't know who I really am yet, but she will, and then what Dexter?" Dexter didn't know how to answer, "Everything comes out, eventually." _

_ "Not everything." Dexter replied stoically, "Not always." Hailey shrunk down in the car seat._

_ "You're right." She said quietly, "I'm anxious that's all. About school and you know… I killed my dad so…" Hailey suddenly put her head in her hands and broke down. Her shoulders shook as sobs violently wracked her body, "I moved in with my mother's boyfriend and killed my father in cold blood. How could I do that? How evil and messed up does one person have to be to do something like that?"_

_ "Hailey… it's okay." Dexter tried to soothe her._

_ "It's not okay." She cried, "Nothing anybody says will make plunging that knife into his chest okay. He was abusive. He abused my mother and me. He deserved to die. But he was my father." She whimpered, "He was my father and I killed him." Dexter saw a sign for a bed and breakfast coming up at the next exit and decided to take it. She only looked up when they stopped and Dexter got out of the car._

_ "Wait here." He said as he went into the quaint bed and breakfast to ask for a room. The house was old, a lot of wooden paneling and antique furniture. It had that musky smell that some people seemed to like so much. Hailey hugged her knees to her chest and she wept. He tapped on her window lightly, looking concerned. She sniffled and got out of the car slowly. Once they entered the room Dexter turned and locked the door as Hailey went to sit on the bed. She wiped her tears away and stared down at her lap fixatedly. _

_ "Hailey I didn't want to get you involved in all this." Dexter said with a sigh._

_ "I know." She looked up at him with glassy eyes, "But I'm involved now and there's not going back. I can't undo what I've done, it's too late and the worst part is Dexter that I don't think I would if I could. I must be severely sick and twisted because I don't regret any of it." She reached up and kissed him on the lips then pulled him down on top of her._

_ "If you're sick and twisted then what does that say about me?" Dexter whispered huskily in her ear. She giggled a little despite herself._

_ "Well compared to you I'm a fucking saint." She answered and put her hand through his hair affectionately. Dexter smirked menacingly and lowered his lips to her neck, nipping at the skin seductively. However, just as Hailey was really starting to give way to the sensation her phone started ringing loudly from her pocket. Dexter groaned but rolled off of her as she reached into her jeans to get it, "It's my mom." Hailey said with a furrowed brow. She had told her mother that she would be out of town that weekend with a friend and not to worry. She picked up the phone, "Hello?" She listened intently as her mother spoke in a rather frantic voice. Dexter watched as Hailey stared blankly up at the ceiling taking deep and even breaths. Eventually she exchanged civil goodbyes with her mother and hung up. She then turned to Dexter, "My dad's officially been reported missing."_

The bell rang, jolting Hailey out of her reverie. She gathered her stuff quickly and tried to race out of the room with the rest of her classmates when a hand was laid on her shoulder. It was her last class before the weekend and she was anxious to get back to the apartment, order Chinese food and watch the ever-amusing Criminal Minds with Dexter. She turned to look at Mr. Daniels who had reached out to stop her from leaving.

"I'd just like to talk to you for a moment before you leave." He said and her skin crawled uneasily. The classroom quickly became vacant and she was left with the unsettling teacher all alone. Mr. Daniels looked to be about 35 years old. If there was a heartthrob teacher at the school it was him, though Hailey had never gotten the appeal. He had jet back hair and a firm clean shaven jawline. She stood in front of his desk a little awkwardly, shifting her weight systematically from her right foot to her left. He cleared his throat and sat in front of her on top of his desk, "I heard about you father's disappearance, I just wanted to tell you that if you ever need anyone to talk to—"

"I don't, thank you though." She said quickly and was about to leave when he spoke again.

"Just think about it." He insisted and she nodded.

"I really have to go." She said quickly and practically raced out of the room.

"Wait!" He called after her loudly as she reached the door. She turned back with frightened eyes, "You forgot your phone." He held her cellphone in his extended palm. She walked back to him and took the device before turning to leave again but he grabbed her wrist to stop her. She jumped at the sudden contact and when she looked up at him his eyes were cold and dead.

"I keep thinking about your face on the day he came back, I think about it a lot actually, more than I should. You looked so… scared." He annunciated the words very slowly. Shivers went down Hailey's spine, "In that moment I thought you looked… beautiful." Hailey tried to pull her wrist away but his grip was strong and she couldn't get free. She opened her mouth to scream but he clamped his hand over it and pushed her back. She fell and hit her head against the desk. Suddenly everything went black.

When Hailey woke up she was no longer in the classroom. Wherever she was it was dark and musty. A gag held her back from screaming and her limbs were tied to a chair. Tears fell down her cheeks as she desperately tried to struggle free. She froze when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and a door creak open. Her breath came out as iritic pants as she began to panic. A bright florescent light came on above her and she was momentarily blinded. She squeezed her eyes shut as the footsteps approached.

"You know, you are a tricky one to get alone." Mr. Daniel's voice sounded through the room, "I should know I've been trying for months but you just kept skipping my class. I knew you could sense there was something different about me. How is that Hailey? None of the other's could see it." He was standing right in front of her now and she opened her eyes to meet his. He pulled the gag out of her mouth so that she could answer.

"You're a fucking psychopath!" She spat.

"Language." He scolded and placed a hand on her cheek, "You know you are a very interesting girl. I was real curious about you so I kind of followed you home." He admitted sheepishly, "I know, I know, that's a bit… creepy. But I just couldn't get you out of my head." He winked as if it were some sort of compliment, "Then when I saw, who you were living with— well I knew we'd be perfect for each other. I mean, you're clearly already into older guys." He grinned.

"That older guy's name is Dexter and when he finds out about this whatever you do to me won't be half as painful as what he puts you through." She threatened.

"Right." He laughed, "That's what they all say. _My daddy will kill you just you wait_. " He mimicked the voice of a teenage girl, "And you know what Hailey, I'm still waiting." He taunted, "I suppose in your case though it's your boyfriend I should be afraid of, even though he's old enough to be your daddy."

"How many other girls?" She asked her eyes fixed on his.

"6." He answered automatically. He seemed to have a twisted sense of pride about the number.

"Just when I was starting to feel special." Hailey scoffed.

"But you are special Hailey." Mr. Daniels said passionately, gripping her cheeks between his hands, "At first, you were just another one. Sexy, smart, popular, you know the usual. But then, I saw you that day crying and running away from your father and it all changed for me. Don't you see, if you were just one of the others you would be dead already." Hailey took a deep intake of breath when the words left his mouth.

"Why did you kill them Mr. Daniels?" She asked in a shaky voice, trying desperately to keep as much composure as possible.

"Please call me Matthew." He smirked. He ran his thumb over her dry lips, "I kill them because they deserve it. They're vain, shallow, dense creatures that don't care about anyone other then themselves and they can get away with it because they're beautiful." He laughed humorlessly, "That really irks me."

"So why spare me?" She asked.

"I'm not sparing you." He grinned, "No, no, you still need to be punished for your sins. I just don't want to kill you yet; I want to have some fun with you first. But I think that…" He paused to wipe some of the stray tears from her cheeks, "If, no _when_, you atone, I'll let you live. I've been thinking a lot about it Hailey. I've had a lot of sleepless nights because of you. And I've come to the conclusion that you just might be the kind of trophy wife I've always wanted. Think about it, we could leave this filthy city, go someone nice and suburban. Maybe Portland, get a house with a white picket fence, maybe have some children running around." She grit her teeth and looked away in disgust. He backed away from her when a phone started ringing and pulled a cellphone out of his pocket. She recognized immediately that it was hers, "Dexter's calling." He pressed the ignore button, "He must be ever so worried about you."

"How did you get me out of the school?" Hailey tried to change the subject, "Surely someone must have noticed."

"I had one of those old bags for skiing equipment. You know, long and bulky." He explained, "You're quite thin, maybe too thin, anyways no one ever really questions a teacher. A teacher is someone you're suppose to trust." He sniggered, "Students see us everyday without even the slightest inclination of what we do on our spare time, the thought never even crossed their minds. We may as well not even be people." The phone started ringing again in his pocket and he laughed loudly, "I think somebody loves you." He mocked.

"He does." She answered firmly, "And I love him."

"So what are we going to do about that?" He knelt down next to her again, letting the phone ring out in his pocket, "We can't have dear old Dexter calling the cops. That would spoil all the fun I have planned." Then a thought crossed his mind and his eyes lit up, "A challenge." He gave her a sick and twisted smile, "A fight to the death to see who gets to keep the fair maiden." He suddenly pressed his lips to hers fiercely; she tried to squirm away from him but he held her there as his tongue was forced into her mouth. When he pulled away she wanted to gag. He pulled out the phone again and searched through the contacts until he found the right one, "Let's give your sweet lover a ring shall we?" He pressed the phone to her ear, "Tell him you need his help. No cops." He took out a knife from his jean pocket and pressed it to her face, "Do not say anything more than I tell you okay?" She nodded and tried to choke back sobs as the blade dug into her cheek, drawing blood, "Good girl." Dexter answered the phone on the second ring.

"Hailey?" He asked. He didn't sound frantic just frustrated, "Where are you, we were supposed to be going out to dinner remember?"

"Dexter." She cried, barely able to get his name out, "Dexter something's happened, I need your help."

"Hailey what's going on?" Dexter asked coolly.

"Ask him if he's alone." Matthew whispered.

"Are you alone?" She asked.

"Yes, why?" Dexter was getting increasingly anxious. Hailey nodded her head at Matthew and he suddenly jerked the phone away from her.

"Hello Dexter, I think I have something of yours that you might want back." Mr. Daniels said, "Now I don't you're a stupid man so you won't call the cops, because if you do you know that I will slice your girlfriend into a million piece."

"Why are you doing this?" Dexter asked through grit teeth.

"You see you and me have a common interest, that being Hailey of course. See I'm a fair guy. I wouldn't just take a girl who already belongs to another man. No, no, I'm going to give you a chance to get her back." He said.

"No police." Dexter agreed, "Give me the time and place."

"Her High School, you know where it is?"

"Yes."

"There, midnight. No weapons."

"That's in two hours, how do I know that she'll still be alive then?" Dexter asked.

"What fun would she be to me dead?" Matthew chuckled, "I'll see you soon Dexter." And with that he snapped the phone closed. Matthew Daniels smiled at Hailey crookedly before pushed her hair out of her eyes and planting a kiss on her forehead, "Soon you'll be all mine my dear. All mine."

Dexter wanted to throw his cellphone across the room and scream at the top of his lungs, but he couldn't. Instead he dropped to the couch that he was sitting next to and put his head in his hands. He shook slightly as he tried to come to terms with what had just happened. He moved to his computer and opened the file for Matthew Daniels, now he knew why the man's workplace had seemed so familiar. It was Hailey's High School. How could he have been so stupid not to notice something like that? This wasn't about him for once, Mr. Daniels had no idea who he was or that he was hunting him and neither did Hailey. If he been honest with her, like he had said he would be… He shook his head, no, he was just protecting her and it was too late now to dwell on 'what ifs', he needed to prepare himself. In 2 hours he was going to have to kill Matthew Daniels and at that moment he couldn't think of a single thing that would give him more pleasure.

Hailey was strapped down to his desk, she couldn't move her arms or legs and there was gag in her mouth to stop her from talking. Daniels was pacing the classroom in anticipation. It was dark, the school was deserted and the whole building was eerily quiet. Hailey was breathing heavily with her eyes trained on the ceiling. She didn't dare look at her teacher. Suddenly the sound of a door being opened and closed echoed through the halls. Daniels had only left one door unlocked so that Dexter wouldn't be able to sneak up on him.

"That should be lover boy now." Mr. Daniels smiled, "Don't go anywhere." He laughed at his own joke before walking out into the hallways, "Dexter!" He shouted, "C'mon don't be shy!" She could hear the footsteps getting closer, "It's nice to finally meet you man to man. Great gal you got there, I bet she's wild one in bed eh?"

"How do we do this?" Dexter asked coldly, "Are you just going to shoot me?"

"Nah. That wouldn't be fair. This is just a precaution." Daniels said, Hailey couldn't see them but she was pretty sure that he was patting Dexter down, "You're good on your word. No wire or anything. Not even a cellphone."

"Your game, your rules." Dexter answered.

"C'mon then." The two of them walked back into the classroom, Daniels held Dexter at gunpoint. All the desks had been moved to make a sort of arena like environment in the classroom, "You and me, like they did in ancient Rome huh? I love ancient Rome, I teach history after all." He laughed and slowly put down the gun, "If you win, you can save the damsel in distress. If you don't… well you'll be dead so I don't think you'll mind too much if I take her."

"Drop the gun then." Dexter hissed and Daniels smirked as he slowly lowered the gun to the ground and kicked it away. In a split second Dexter had lunged at the other man with a ferocious almost animalistic growl ripping through his chest. Hailey knew in that moment that there was no doubt that Dexter would win. That he would kill Daniels, maybe even rip him to pieces with his bare hands and she wanted to watch. She wouldn't be weak anymore, not after this, not ever again. She needed to become the hunter rather than the prey. He could help her, teach her. Something snapped inside of her and any guilt, any remorse that she might have felt for her past actions vanished into thin air. The cool spray of blood hit her face, Mr. Daniels was gasping for air that would never again enter his lungs, she watched as Dexter strangled the life out of him and she felt strangely… aroused.

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	11. Chapter 11

**The Morning After**

She spun the fork around on the plate, twirling the pasta around the metal but never once raising it to her mouth. Dexter watched her from across the table.

"You should eat something."

"I'm not hungry." Hailey answered putting the fork down on the table.

"You've lost a lot of blood." He said, "The doctor said…"

"I'm aware of what the doctor said." She hissed. Dexter sighed and grit his teeth.

"Eat Hailey." He demanded. She picked up the fork again slowly and took a bite of the pasta deliberately, her eyes never leaving his, then put it down again, "I killed him. It's over." Dexter stated gruffly.  
>"Do you know what he was going to do to me Dexter? Huh?" She shouted, "He wasn't even going to kill me, he was going to force me to make 'amends'! How fucked up is that?" She ran a hand through her hair shakily, her sudden angry dissipating as quickly as it had arisen, "God, you know what the worst part is? I just keep thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't met you, if you hadn't been there. Oh god, I would be dead right now… or worst." She looked down at the table, "I'm so sorry. I've been nothing but bad news for you ever since we met."<p>

"That's not true." Dexter got up and walked around the table to stand behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders and lowered his lips to her neck.

"Can we just watch a movie or something tonight? I'm tired but the doctor said that I shouldn't sleep for a few hours because I might have a mild concussion." She said somberly. Dexter kissed her neck soothingly and then backed away.

"Sure." He answered, "I'll pick something out. Something light."

"You don't know the definition of light." She joked.

"I'll Google it." He winked at her as he left the room. Hailey went to the landline, since her phone had been smashed during the fight and dialed and familiar number. She waited patiently for him to pick up the phone, tapping her fingertips against the countertop rhythmically.

"Hello?"

"Anthony?" She whispered, "It's me. I need your help. I can't tell you why but will you come pick me up tomorrow, say like 11?"

"Uh yeah, sure Hailey."

"Okay. Thanks." She hung up before he had the chance to ask any questions and took a deep calming breath. She walked into the bedroom and snuggling up next to Dexter on the bed as he tried to decide on a film. She pulled him into a long and sweet kiss.

"I love you." She muttered. He kissed her harder and pushed her down on the bed but she squirmed away. Her head hurt like hell and flashes of Mr. Daniels still plagues her mind, "Not right now okay?"

"You're right, sorry." He apologized, planting a soft kiss on her lips before pulling her tightly against his body, "I'll take care of you Hailey." He whispered in her ear, "I'll make sure that nothing like this ever happens again."

"You'd better." She answered as they settled in for the night. They settled on watching Serendipity, a romantic comedy that Hailey had always loved. She couldn't focus on the movie though. Too many worries kept flying around her mind bringing attention to themselves whenever she had a chance to think. She dreaded the next day. She dreaded the night for that matter and the memories it could summon in her dreams. She buried her face more firmly into Dexter's chest as if somehow he could save her from her mind. Her efforts were futile. That night she dreamed about a house with a white picket fence and children running around in the yard. Chains wrapped around her arms and feet as she stepped foreword and she turned to see Matthew Daniels standing there with a large grin on his face. She woke up in a cold sweat. Dexter was still fast asleep and she cried. She cried until her eyes sealed themselves shut and she fell back into the oblivion of sleep.

Anthony's eyes kept flickering between Hailey and the road. He was driving aimlessly down an Oceanside road and could tell that something was terribly wrong with his best friend. Hailey was in some kind of state and she kept biting her bottom lip to the point where she drew blood. She clearly hadn't gotten much sleep. Her eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles underneath them and her face was pale as if she had just seen a ghost.

"You got to tell me what's wrong Hailey." Anthony insisted and he heard her take a long shaky breath before she raised her hand and pointed to a beach parking lot.

"Pull over here." She instructed and Anthony complied without question. Once the car had reached a full stop, Anthony turned around and looked Hailey straight in the eyes. She unbuckled her seatbelt slowly before opening her mouth to speak the long awaited words, "It happened about a little over a month ago. I went on a road trip with Dexter, his biological father died and we needed to clear out his house..."

"Hailey if that guy hurt you—"

"He didn't, just let me finish." She interrupted him, "Anyways, I don't know how to say this but well... I'm pregnant." Anthony looked at her with a half shocked, half horrified expression.

"Shit." He finally spat out.

"Yeah, you think?" She muttered, tears already pooling her eyes no matter how much she didn't want to start crying again. She stared out the windshield at the crashing waves, "I found out yesterday, I was at the hospital and they did blood work, anyways when Dexter left the room the doctor told me and it…"

"You haven't told him yet?" Anthony was well aware that Hailey had a tendency to avoid an issue as long as humanly possible.

"No." She replied, "I don't know how he'll take it. You know? I'm only eighteen and I'm scared." She admitted. Her stomach twisted at just the idea of telling Dexter that she was having his child, "I mean, what if he doesn't want it? What if I don't want it? I'm not ready for this." She was beginning to panic. Her breathing grew erratic and she frantically looked around the car as if looking for an escape.

"Just calm down and breathe." Anthony put a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be okay. You love him right? And he loves you. So, I know this is hard to hear but you need to talk to him. It's his kid too. He has a right to know." Anthony thought for a moment before laughing.

"What?"

"Some part of me always knew that if I didn't keep a close eye on you, you'd get knocked up or something." Anthony answered. Hailey just looked down at her hands somberly, "I'm sorry."

"No, you're just right is all." She said slowly, "Hand me your cellphone, I'll call Dexter and tell him that we need to talk. We'll go to lunch and I'll tell him everything."

"Good." Anthony said approvingly and handed her the device. She flipped it open and dialed the cellphone number that she knew by heart. It rang for a long time before he picked up.

"Hello, don't hang up." He answered.

"Dexter, it's me. We need to uh… talk about something. Can we get lunch?"

"Hailey I'm at a crime scene right now." His breathing seemed harsh, like he was trying his best to even it out.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered automatically, "Just a rough day." He looked down at his watch and sighed, "Lunch will work."

"I can drop by your office, and we can go from there." She suggested, "There's that really nice Mexican restaurant on the boardwalk."

"Okay sure, I'll be in my office at the latest 12:30 so come by a bit after that." He said.

"That sounds good." She answered tentatively, "I'll see you then." She hung up the phone and looked at Anthony for reassurance, "Okay, now what?"

"Now you tell your boyfriend that you're uhh… expecting." Anthony answered.

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

"It's at moments like these that I'm happy I'm gay." He said and she smiled softly, "So how did you end up in the hospital anyways?"

"I slipped on some spilt water and hit my head on the kitchen counter." She lied and leaned her head against the back of the seat, "What am I going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe he'll ask you to marry him."

"What would my mom say to that?" Hailey scoffed, "It's bad enough that I got knocked up by her ex-boyfriend but if I also marry him she'll never ever speak to me again… not that she'll ever speak to me again anyways after all this comes out."

"Ex-boyfriend?" He hissed, "This Dexter guy, is your mother's ex?"

"I forgot to mention that?"

"Yeah, you left that part out." He narrowed his eyes at her, "How could you do that to your mother, I know you two have your issues but this?"

"I love him, just like you said." She knew that the argument was ridiculous but there was no other reason why she could do something so cruel really, "I couldn't help it. I definitely didn't want it to happen this way but he's it Anthony. He's all I want." That didn't justify anything and they both knew it.

"This is really fucked up Hailey."

"I know, trust me, you don't even know the half of it." She muttered, "My whole future is totally uncertain right now but if there's one thing that I'm absolutely sure of it's him. He saved me." Anthony just scowled and started the engine.

"Let's go shopping or something before I try to knock some sense into you." He said and backed out of the parking lot. She wanted to tell him that everything she was doing was completely sane and normal and that it would all work out in the end, but then she realized she couldn't even convince herself of that.

An hour later, Hailey walked onto Dexter's floor carrying more than a few shopping bags. Deb saw her and intercepted her on her way to Dexter's office.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm here to have lunch with Dexter." Hailey answered and offered Deb a soft smile, "He told me he was having a rough day."

"He called you?" She asked incredulously.  
>"No, I called him but… why would that be so hard to believe?"<p>

"Dexter's not much of a sharer."

"I've noticed." Hailey laughed, "But if you give him space and wait long enough, he'll open up. It's a rare thing but when it happens…" She smiled to herself, "He love you Deb, you're the only family he has left, but it's hard for him to let people in. You probably know that better than anybody."

"Yeah." Deb replied, looking at the ground, "You should ask him about the crime scene today. See if you can get anything more out of him than I did. I think he should talk to somebody about what happened."

"I will." Hailey nodded, "Thanks Deb." Deb just nodded and walked away without another word or a wave goodbye. Dexter was sitting in the lab staring intently down at some photographs in his hand. "Hey." She greeted and he looked up. She looked different. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with loose strands framing her face and she was wearing an outfit that he had never seen before. Skinny jeans and a blue button up top that was rolled up to her elbows.

"Did you go shopping?" He asked.

"Yeah, with Anthony." She answered.

"You look… older, um… more mature." He furrowed his eyebrows. She grinned widely.

"That's kind of what I was going for." She played nervously with the pendant that hung around her neck, "Are you ready to go?" She asked and he nodded. Grabbing his bag from off the table, he took her hand as they walked out of the office together. Nodding to Angel and Doakes on his way out.

"So what did we need to talk about?" He asked.

"Umm… how about we just discuss it over lunch. I'm starving." She smiled reassuringly, losing her nerve by the second. She knew that he wasn't buying it.

"What's wrong Hailey?" He questioned, "Is it about last night? Look it's perfectly normal to be scared. Do you want me to take the rest of the day off?" He was worried about her. She didn't show it but he knew that she was terrified over what had happened to her. He could see it in her eyes and in the way she talked almost hesitantly. She had thrashed around all last night from nightmares and it had kept him up as well for a long time.

"No. No. It's not about that. I'm fine really. A bit shaken but I know that he's gone now so I'm… I'm okay. Or at least, I will be." She assured him. He squeezed her hand and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. They walked in silence for the rest of the way. Once they had sat down at the restaurant and the waiter took their orders.

"Okay. We're here. Tell me."

"Promise you won't freak out okay?"

"Hailey..." He said warningly.

"It's just… it's something big and I don't know how you're going to feel about it. Or even how I feel about it." She spoke frantically and it concerned him. He had never seen her so worked up about something before. Usually she was the epitome of calm and collected. She took a long drink of her coke before being forced to look him straight in the eye, "Remember that first day when we were at your bio dad's house, before your sister got there." She bit her bottom lip.

"Yes, I remember that with extreme clarity. Why?" He asked.

"Because…" She knew that the next three words that she was about to say would change the rest of her life. The rest of their lives, "Because I'm pregnant."

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	12. Chapter 12

**Truth Be Told**

He looked like he was about to pass out. Or kill someone. She wasn't sure which. She watched him carefully from across the table as he sat perfectly still in silence for what seemed like an eternity. She didn't know what to do next, afraid that any sudden movement would set him off. She felt like crying now. She was scared of what his reaction would be but she had assumed that he would have a reaction, any kind of reaction. Anything was better than this blank stare. In fact she wasn't even sure if he was breathing or if his heart had just stopped beating on the spot. The waiter came to the table and placed their food in front of them. Dexter seemed to snap out of it a bit at that point. Hailey thanks the woman but didn't make a move to eat. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

"Are you sure?" He whispered.

"Well yeah, the doctor told me last night." She answered. More silence. It was heart wrenching.

"You know what I am Hailey." Dexter said. His mind was racing, his heart beating faster than it ever had before. He felt like he was having another panic attack, like the one he had when he walked into the room full of blood that morning. Except maybe worse, "I don't know what kind of father I'd make. How my child would turn out."

"_Our_ child." She corrected quietly.

"Right." He gulped down some water, "What are we going to do?"

"How the fuck should I know Dexter? I'm eighteen!" She slammed her hands down on the table viciously and then composed herself when she saw some of the other patrons look over. Dexter stared at her in shock, "You're the adult here remember? What are our options?"

"Termination, adoption or caretaking." Dexter stated.

"Termination?"

"It's one of the options Hailey."

"Do you want me to—?"

"No." He correctly quickly, "Well, only if that was what you wanted."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yes."

"I think I want to—" Hailey got flustered and stopped mid-sentence. Dexter took her hand in his, "I don't know. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I… I just love you so much and I want to…"

"I love you too." He breathed out. The words weren't painful leaving his mouth as he had anticipated, "We don't have to make up our minds about this right here and right now. We can think about it. _You_ can think about it." He pushed her glass of water closer to her, urging her to take a drink, "We'll figure this out."

"Do you think I would be a good mom?" She asked quietly after a moment, "I mean my mom is always so caring and considerate and patient and I mean I'm still majorly fucked up. So if the perfect mother still screws up her kids, can you imagine what I could do to a child's psyche?"

"You'd be fine." Dexter answered awkwardly. The truth was that he was skeptical about Hailey's abilities as a mother and even more uncertain of his own abilities as a father. They looked at each other in the eyes and Dexter cupped her cheek with his hand, "It's all going to be okay. I think."

"How very reassuring." She joked. He raised his eyebrows and let out a deep breath. She laughed lightly, "God, I can't believe Anthony thought that you might actually ask me to marry you." Dexter froze. His entire body felt like it had suddenly been put on ice.

"Uh." He coughed uncomfortably, "I didn't know you wanted _that._"

"Oh. I umm… don't. Well I mean—I do, you know like most girls do, but you know, it… it didn't even cross my mind until Anthony brought it up so… yeah." She finished awkwardly. Tension filled the air and they both sat there looking at anything but each other.

"So you do… want to get married?" Dexter asked.

"Well yeah, one day."

"Do you think it would be better if we were married?" He asked, "More socially acceptable?"

"Since when have I ever wanted to be socially acceptable?" She teased but then rolled her eyes at his expression, "Don't worry about it Dexter, the last thing I want is to get married just because you knocked me up. That would be so… cliché."

"Well good I guess—"

"Besides it's not like we could tell anyone we were married because if my mother found out she would disown me and if your sister found out she would castrate you, so… what would be the point really?" She stared down at her food without really looking at it, "So I guess I'll just have this baby out of wedlock and add it to the list of 10 commandments that I've broken, I never really went to church but I'm guessing that Moses didn't advocate killing your father and fucking your mother's boyfriend."

"Hailey." Dexter's voice lowered a decibel, "Hailey if you don't want to go through with this we can talk about it. But right now neither one of us is in the right mindset for that conversation so let's just try to eat and go on as normal for now."

"Normal?" She asked incredulously, "We're never going to have another normal conversation again. Could you imagine if we had a kid? I'd put off college and stay home, while my boyfriend goes out and hunts other serial killers." Her breaths grew shallow again, "I feel like I'm going to be sick."

"We're going to figure this all out." Dexter said calmly. Hailey nodded stiffly and fell back into silence, "It's all going to be okay." He said softly to himself. Hailey looked out at the sea and watched the tide clash against the sand.

"You said you loved me." She whispered.

"What?"

"You said you loved me." She repeated a little bit louder, "You've never… well you know… you've never said that to me before." He stared at her blankly for a few moments before nodding slowly.

"I do love you. You know I love you. I would do anything for you and at this point I think I might have." He smiled a little. She stayed silent and considered what he had said. She breathed in through her nose slowly and exhaled through her mouth. Her heart still felt like it was beating out of her chest.

"Maybe we should move somewhere, far away, where nobody knows us." Hailey suggested between deep even breaths, "Somewhere green and lush where there are white picket fences and manicured lawns and a good police force that is in need of a blood splatter analyst and just the right amount of serial killers for you to hunt down." She sighed and leaned her head against her palm.

"My sister lives here, your mother and siblings…"

"We wouldn't need them. We could live in a suburban house and I'd take care of the kids and you'd go out and slaughter murderers." She laughed, "We could be happy, just you and me."

"Sounds idyllic." Dexter mused, "Unrealistic though." She smiled sadly and nodded, "So what are the next steps, I don't really know the proper protocol for this situation." Hailey shrugged.

"I don't either." She admitted, "I guess I should see a doctor again, there are probably medications… but we found out really early because of the whole blood test thing so maybe we should just wait and let it all sink in first. Decide what the best course of action would be."

"Seem sensible." Dexter looked her over once more, "Is that why you're dress like that?" He asked.

"Like what?"

"The new clothes they make you look older. More sensible."

"So?"

"So, that's not you."

"Are you saying that I'm not mature enough to wear these clothes?"

"You're plenty mature, you don't need to dress like it to prove it to anybody."

"If we walked down the street together, holding hands say, or even go you're your office, don't you think everybody would be a little confused as to why someone like you is going out with some silly little girl in short shorts?" Her eyes were sharp and locked on his, "I mean you're all about blending in and keeping up appearances right?"

"Since when do you follow my example?"

"Since now!" She insisted, "I want it to look right with us, 'cause it feels right."

"I like you the way you are. You don't need to change."

"I'm trying to grow up a little Dexter, I have every reason to now."

"You're right." Dexter sighed, "The blouse looks nice on you." Hailey let the subject drop and sipped at her drink. Dexter's cellphone rang and he sprang to pick it up, breaking the awkward silence between them, "Dexter Morgan. Okay, I'm on my way." Hailey scowled at his words as he hung up and stuffed his phone back in his pocket, "Sorry, work, the Ice Truck Killer's back in action."

"Does this mean they know it's not the creepy taxidermy guy now?"

"Well he did renounce his confession, and with this new incident…"

"Incident?" She asked, "What incident? What happened?" Dexter went on the explain the jar of blood that had been sent to the police station and the room bathed in blood that followed, "You sounded shaken up on the phone, are you okay?"

"It's just too familiar, the bloody room, it brings back memories I'd rather left forgotten." He answered bitterly. She knew better than to press him on it.

"You should go I guess, we can talk more tonight."

"Yeah." Dexter took out his wallet and threw his credit card on the table, "You know the pin right?" She nodded, "Lunch is on me then. I'll see you tonight." He leaned down and kissed her on the lips briefly before turning to leave, he hesitated for a moment and turned back, "Why don't you take the card and go shopping again, find something a little more suited to you?" He winked and walked away. Hailey didn't know if she felt better about everything after that conversation or much much worse.

She did take Dexter's card and go shopping again, buying dresses that she would only be able to fit into for another 2 months until she started showing. She didn't want to think about that though, all she wanted to focus on was not blowing Dexter's entire salary in one shopping spree. She returned to the apartment, completely spent, dropping the bags on the ground with a sigh and settling onto the couch. She had only shut her eyes for a moment when there was a knock on the door. She yawned and stretched as she got up to answer it. _Maybe Dexter forgot his key_, she thought to herself. But to her surprise, it wasn't Dexter standing on the other side of the door or even some pestering man in a tie asking her if she'd heard that Jesus Christ was her lord and savior. It was Rudy.

"Uh, hey." She greeted hesitantly, "What's up?"

"Deb and I got into a fight." He explained, "I need some advice."

"From me?"

"Nah, Dexter. Is he around?" Rudy asked, looking around her and into the apartment.

"Oh, not yet, he should be getting home from work soon." She looked down into the paper bag that he was holding, "Are those porterhouses?" She asked with a smirk.

"They sure are." He showed her the 6 pack of beer that he had hidden behind his back, "Brought something to wash 'em down too."

"You sure do know the way to a girl's heart." She laughed, "Come in. We can start grilling the steaks, then when he gets here you and Dexter can have a man to man talk about the complexities of women." They exchanged pleasantries as he started pulling the steaks out of the bag and placing them on the kitchen table.

"So you and Dexter are living together now?" He remarked curiously.

"Yep for about a month and a half now."

"How is that?"

"It's good." She answered, "I mean he is the ideal roommate isn't he? Quiet, clean, keeps to himself unless you want to talk."

"Well you guys are a little bit more than roommates."

"True." Hailey agreed, she blushed a little, "It's been really great."

"Well I'm glad to here someone's relationship is going well." He sighed.

"Relationships aren't easy." She giggled, "God I sounded like my mother there for a second." She looked Rudy up and down and grinned, "Not only are you seriously hot but you have a steady job, a cool job even, how the fuck did you manage to screw this up?" Rudy laughed heartily.

"You think that making prostatic body parts is a cool job?"

"Totally! But I mean, I think Dexter's job is cool too, so there might be something seriously wrong with me."

"I doubt it." He said, "You look pretty goddamn perfect to me. Beer?" He asked offering her the bottle. She shook her head no.

"So are you gonna tell me what you and Deb fought about or are you waiting for a bigger audience?" Rudy was about to reply when they heard keys entering the lock and the doorknob turned to announce Dexter's presence, "Speak of the devil." She muttered, "Hey Dexter!" She greeted with a bright smile as he walked in the door. Dexter look around at the shopping bags scattered around the floor and at their guest, a little disoriented, "Rudy dropped by with food."

"Porterhouses to be exact." Rudy chimed in from the kitchen.

"Wasn't that nice of him?"

"Uh yeah…" Dexter responded still a little confused.

"I'm afraid I didn't have the purest of intentions." Rudy admitted.

"He needs advice, on Deb." Hailey continued.

"So you came to me?" Dexter asked.

"You know her better than anyone." Rudy replied. Hailey looked between the two of them and then down to the bags on the ground.

"I should go put this stuff away." She announced, "You two talk." She grabbed the products of her shopping trip and disappeared into the bedroom.

"Quite the girl you got there, Dexter." Rudy said with a smirk. Dexter nodded, watching Hailey go. He noticed the empty beer bottle on the table.

"Was she drinking?" He asked.

"Nah, that was me I'm afraid. Sorry I started the pity party a little early." Rudy answered. Dexter drew his attention away from his girlfriend and onto the man in front of him.

"So what seems to be the problem?"

Hailey spent the next few days hiding away from the world in bed. Dexter was at the hospital a lot checking up on Batista, who had just been stabbed in a parking lot somewhere, but other than that he was simply acting distant, something was bothering him, something about his mother and the room of blood but he didn't open up very much beyond that point. He tried coaxing her out from under the covers but since the attack she didn't want to return to school to face the classroom where her history teacher had kidnapped her and tied her to a desk. She couldn't go home to see her mother without being filled with overwhelming guilt about Dexter, and her siblings didn't make her feel much better either since she was the reason their father has mysteriously disappeared without a trace. She had even considered calling Deb but squashed that idea the moment it popped into her head, it wasn't as if the woman wanted to talk to the product of her brother's mid-life crisis, as she had apparently been dubbed recently. Her cellphone rang in the early hours of the evening and she rolled over lazily to answer it.

"Hello?"

"You sound like you just woke up." Dexter said.

"No." She yawned, "I'm just tired. What's up?"

"Ice Truck Killer case." Dexter replied, "I just came from the hospital, Batista said that he punched his attacker in the lip."

"So?"

"This morning, I met Rudy down at the docks, he had a split lip- said he had done it this morning. He was lying. I knew he was lying, but I was too distracted to care." Dexter explained, "Do we still have his empty beer bottles for the other night?"

"No, I took out the recycling yesterday why?"

"DNA."

"Wait." Hailey sprang up into a sitting position, "You actually think that Rudy was the man who attacked Batista? Why would he do that?"

"Don't know yet. I just have a gut feeling." Dexter said, "If I'm right it means that Deb is in danger, she's not in the office like she said she would be and she's not answering her phone, I need you to go down to the marina where Rudy was supposed to take her and make sure she's safe while I wait here for the results of this blood test."

"You want me to go find a maybe attempted-murderer?"

"There's a gun in the back of the air-conditioning vent where I keep the rest of my supplies, take it with you." Dexter said, "Don't get on the boat just make sure that my sister's safe. Keep your cellphone on." Hailey thought about it for a moment, rubbing her hands over her face.

"Okay Dexter. Just tell me where to go."

She borrowed Anthony's car and drove up the long winding road to the marina. She could see the yacht way before she got close, it was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. She would have thought it was a beautiful gesture if Dexter's words weren't still ringing in her ears about Rudy being a psychopath and there wasn't a gun sticking out of her jean shorts. She parked out of view of the boat and got out of the car quietly. She snuck through the bushes towards the boat and crouched down. Deb was swearing, happily for once, while Rudy was down on one knee. Hailey raised her eyebrows, rather impressed with how quickly that relationship had developed. If memory served, she had been seeing Dexter for longer than Deb had been dating Rudy and even with a baby on the way now she wasn't even considering marriage. Or was she? She shooed the thoughts from her mind and focused on the couple.

"I hope Dexter's wrong." She muttered to herself. Deb looked so happy, jumping up and down as Rudy slid the ring on her finger, they started making out and Rudy led Deb into the cabinet of the boat. Hailey sighed and tried calling Dexter but the line was busy, he was probably still trying to get a hold of Deb, "Fuck." She swore under her breath. She was about to go back to the car and wait for Deb to come out there when she heard something that sounded like a muffled cry. Hailey got closer until she was standing right on the edge of the dock. Something crashed from within the boat, sounds of a struggle. She was frozen for a moment, not knowing what to do. Dexter had told her not to get on the boat, and right now more than ever it seemed like sound advice. But what if something horrible happened to his sister, would he ever be able to forgive her idleness? Would she ever be able to forgive herself? She had tried forgiving herself for a lot of horrible things that she had done recently, she was sick of trying to justify her wrongdoings. She called Dexter again, this time more frantically, and once got his message machine, "Dexter." She began after the beep, "I don't know what's happening, but I know it's not good. I think your sister is in serious trouble and I can't— I know you told me not to get on the boat, but I need to try and help her if I can. I'll be fine. I have the gun. Just call me when you get this okay?" Another strangled scream came from the closed doors of the cabinet, "Dexter I'm scared. I love you okay?" With that she hung up and tiptoed onto the boat, the gun in her hands. Dexter had told her how to work a gun but she had never actually fired one. It had just been in theory, in case of emergencies, now the danger seemed all too real. She opened the door that led to the underbelly of the boat a crack and looked in.

"Oh god why are you doing this?" Deb gasped between labored breaths. He had her in a headlock, cutting off the air to her lungs.

"The whole tricky part was getting you on the boat." Rudy said in a slightly strained but disturbingly jovial voice, "The other ones I could just pay. But in the end, you made it easy, so desperate to fall in love." Hailey's cellphone rang. Everything stopped. Her heart dropped. She watched in absolute horror as Rudy drop Deb's unconscious body back on the couch and looked up directly into her widened eyes.

**HELLO! It's been so long. I know. I'm sorry. But if you are still reading this horribly neglected story you'll be pleased to know that its last chapter is going to be posted tomorrow, as well as *hopefully* the first chapter of the sequel. As always, please review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Born Free**

Hailey had the gun pointed at him firmly but he didn't seem fazed. She couldn't blame him. She hardly considered herself the most intimidating of people.

"Hailey how good of you to join us." Rudy chuckled, "Put down the gun, I don't think that's necessary for a nice boat ride between friends. He took a knife out of his pocket and she flinched as he pressed it to Deb's neck, "Drop the gun Hailey."

"Uh… no thanks." Her voice shook violently.

"Drop it or I'll slit her throat." He threatened but she just shook her head again, "Do you really think you can pull that trigger as fast as I can slice her open. And what if you miss? I just wanted to get to Dexter. I don't need Deb. I could use you just as well." Hailey swallowed nervously, "But I don't want to, because I like you. We can talk this out, you, Dexter and me. I'm guessing he was the one who called. He knows."

"Knows what?" She asked, "That you were the one that attacked Batista?"

"More than that." He smiled wickedly, "He knows that I'm the Ice Truck Killer." Hailey tried to look calm but she couldn't keep the shock from her expression, "Oh, you hadn't figured that one out yet? But you did know that I was capable of murder, that's why you came here right?"

"I came here because Dexter wanted me to make sure his sister was safe."

"Ah, I see." He nodded, "If you really want to protect Deb you'll put down the gun Hailey." His knife dug into her throat and drew blood, "Don't force my hand here kiddo, I can and will overpower you if I have to." Hailey knew he was right. She didn't want to admit it but as she watched the thick red substance start to drip down Deb's neck, she knew he had forced her hand.

"If I put it down, you won't hurt me right?" She looked up at him pleadingly.

"Why would I want to kill you?" He asked, "You're the girl my brother trusts enough to tell about his dark secret."

"Brother?"

"More than that," he continued without acknowledging her question, "if I kill you, I'd also be killing my cute little future nephew." She just stared at him in muted terror, "Oh c'mon Hailey, I work at the hospital after all. It's easy to get a hold of someone's medical history there and I was rather taken aback by your lack of alcohol consumption during our last meeting."

"But you're saying… that Dexter is your brother?"

"I'll explain it all on the way, just drop the weapon now or I'll kill this bitch out of sheer boredom." Rudy hissed. Her gun clattered to the floor.

They were in a stolen car. He had classical music playing on the radio, loudly. She could faintly hear the sound of Deb's screams from the trunk. She shook in the leather seat, unable to meet the smirking serial killer's eyes.

"So your name is Brian? And you're Dexter's long lost brother who is coincidentally also a serial killer. And you've been killing all these girls and seducing his adopted sister so that you two can be reunited again and start this creepy family serial tag team?" She shook her head, "This is sick."

"I never ever thought you would be the first to know." He chuckled, "I guess I never thought people like me and Dex would be able to find love, someone who accepts us for what we are. But I was wrong."

"You and Dexter aren't the same." She argued, "He only kills bad guys, murderers, people like you."

"That was the influence of that cop." Brian spat distastefully, "But when he finally meets his real family, he'll see that there is no code in killing."

"Are you sure about that?" She turned to face him, "And if he does kill his sister like you say he will, what about me? What are you two going to do to me? Drain me of blood and cut me up into nice little pieces ready for display or put my dismembered body parts in a garbage bag to be thrown into the ocean?"

"I hope there will be a less gruesome solution Hailey." He responded with a grin, "But I guess that's all up to you and Dexter. I don't want to get caught up in relationship drama again." She laughed humorlessly.

"Why wasn't Rudy Cooper this witty?" Before he could respond Deb's screams got louder and he had to stop the car. He grabbed the roll of duct tape from the glove compartment.

"I'll be right back."

Dexter was tied to a chair. Brian had told her that it was the only way. She was scared now, for his life as well as her own. She was slumped against the wall, refusing to sit at the ritualistic long wooden table, the only piece of furniture that was left in the empty house except for the two chairs that were placed on either end, which now occupied the two brothers.

"Nothing personal. I just wanted to have a beer with you before we got started." Brain said, cradling a bottle between his hands, "You made that kind of difficult."

"Sorry." Dexter answered hazily.

"You don't ever have to apologize to me Dexter. Not for who you are or anything you do. Looks just like it used to doesn't it?"

"Who does it belong to?"

"Me." He took a sip of his beer; "I got it for you actually."

"I'm really more of an apartment person." Dexter replied. Hailey would have laughed if she didn't feel like she was going to throw up at any moment.

"You're trapped in a lie little brother. The same lie they tried forcing me into." Brian said. Dexter suddenly turned and saw Hailey.

"Hailey…" He whispered, "I thought you were dead."

"Oh Dexter I would never do that to you." Brian clutched his heart as if he were offended by the suggestion, "Hailey here was very brave. Came in all guns a blazing and everything. Luckily for your sister though, she was willing to compromise." Dexter looked at her helplessly, "You don't know how much it would have pained me to put an end to this little angel of death, and the soon to be member of our little fucked up family." Hailey curled up into a little ball on the floor and listened as Brian explained what happened to him after Harry Morgan separated them, "Mom always told me to look after you." He said and leaned forwards in his seat, "Imagine how I felt when I tracked you down and found out you were exactly like me."

"I don't have to imagine." Dexter's reply sent shivers down Hailey's spine and she shook her head uselessly. She wanted to scream at Dexter not to buy into this but one wrong move and she knew that she'd be the next one on the cutting board. Rudy stood up and grabbed the knife on the table, cutting away the duct tape that bound him to the chair. Dexter stood up and went over to Hailey, extending his hand to her. She took it hesitantly, "It's okay." He cooed in her ear, "Everything's going to be okay now."

"I know what you've been going through all these years." Rudy spoke up, "The isolation, the otherness, the hunger that's never satisfied. Sure you had Hailey here to talk to throughout the last few months, but how much can she really understand? You're not alone anymore Dexter. You can be yourself, with me. Your real genuine self." Dexter looked entranced and Hailey clutched onto him tighter, "Takes the breath away doesn't it?" Rudy slowly passed him the knife, "I think we're ready for Deborah."

"Hailey wait here." Dexter enunciated the words slowly.

"Dexter you can't—"  
>"Stay here." He repeated coldly, "I'll be back soon."<p>

"NO!" She screamed, tears falling down her cheeks, "She's you sister! She doesn't deserve this, any of this! Harry taught you how to survive, how to not get caught. He loved you! He took care of you! You can't just forgo everything he said, everything you've lived your life by!" Rudy looked at her murderously, "I won't let you." Dexter's grip was suddenly iron tight as he pushed her back down on the chair at the head of the table.

"It's not your decision." He responded, "He's right you don't understand Hailey, at least not as much as you claim to." Rudy suddenly appeared behind him with the roll of duct tape.

"Dexter!" She protested, but it was no use. He held her down while Rudy bound her to the chair, "Dexter please don't do this." She cried, "I know you don't want to do this. I know you love me, you wouldn't do this to me, or your sister."

"Fake sister." Rudy corrected as he silenced her with the final piece of tape covering her mouth. She was helpless as she watched Dexter and Rudy leave the house through the back door. She was totally, and completely, useless.

The next thing she knew there were sirens coming from every direction. Cops came in from every door and surrounded her, she looked up at them motionlessly as they cut away the tape holding her down, they ripped off the piece on her mouth too but she didn't speak. At some point someone wrapped a blanket around her and pulled her up and outside to the porch. A cop that she had met once before (she thought his name was Doakes?) started questioning her mercilessly, about who she was or how she got there or if she knew who Brian Moser was but all she could mutter out was, "Dexter."

"Dexter?" He asked gruffly.

"Hailey!" She looked around the large policeman and saw Dexter running towards them, tears immediately pooled in her eyes again. Behind him Deb was being helped to the ambulance. He hadn't done it. She stood up slowly and walked over to meet him. He threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She started sobbing into his shoulder brokenly. Doakes started barking out more questions, which Hailey couldn't make out, "Girlfriend." Dexter answered, "She's my girlfriend. As if Deb wasn't enough incentive, Moser promised to kill them both if I didn't come alone. I couldn't risk it." He explained, "I thought— I love you Hailey."

"I love you too." She sputtered out. When the detective had moved away from them he pulled back to look her in the eye.

"When I got your message that you were going on the boat, I thought he had killed you. It made sense that you would just be collateral to the Ice Truck Killer." Dexter took a deep and ragged breath in.

"Well I'm not dead."

"I haven't been protecting you like I said I would. I dragged you into this." He said, "When I saw you were okay, I thought that if all this was over I could let you go but I can't. Your mine." He pressed his lips to hers fiercely and she returned the gesture a little hesitantly. He looked her directly in the eye, "I'm going to be there for this baby."

"I'm so happy to hear you say that." She smiled weakly.

"Morgan! We need to ask you some questions." Doakes barked at him, "Now."

"Go." She said, "I'm supposed to go get checked out by the EMT anyways."

"Okay." He kissed her on the head and turned to go. She walked over to where Deb was and sat down next to her on the edge of the ambulance.

"Hey." She greeted awkwardly.

"Hi." Deb replied, she looked shattered, "They told me that Rudy—I mean Brian— took you too."

"Yeah." She answered, "He came to Dexter's apartment, I opened the door because why wouldn't I? It's not like he was a stranger. And he put a knife to my throat and said he'd slit it if I didn't come with him."

"I'm sorry."

"No. I'm sorry." Hailey said, "I'm sorry this happened to you."

"You too." Deb responded with a small smile.

"Thanks."

Hailey sat in the seat next to Deb's hospital bed, waiting for Dexter to call her and tell her that he had brought the car around and was ready to pick her up. He had told her that he was making a little stop at the prosthetics department.

"I'm going to go home with Dexter and get the apartment ready so that you can stay there for the next little while." Hailey said, "Are you sure you don't want me staying at a hotel for a few days?" She asked.

"No." Deb replied tiredly, "I don't mind sharing the bed, or taking the couch. What you went through was traumatic too, I don't want to kick you out of your apartment." Hailey nodded gratefully, "I think we can be friends now."

"I'd like that a lot." Hailey smiled. She saw Deb's eyes drooping closed and turned the bedside lamp off, "Sleep well." She said got up to leave the room just as her cellphone beeped. She made her way out to the parking lot and got in the car.

Dexter had her wrapped into his arms on the couch. An old Christmas movie was playing on the television screen, illuminating the room. The prosthetic Deb had been tucked into bed and now it was time to wait for the Ice Truck Killer himself to show up. She stayed completely still when she heard the lock get picked and footsteps enter the room, they stopped directly above the couple before moving on to the bedroom. Dexter sat up and moved past her with a piece of wire in his hands, she silently nodded at him as he disappeared after his brother. There was a struggled, Dexter taunting Brian as he strangled him, and then silence. Hailey stood up and turned the living room light on, Dexter dragged Brian's body across the floor.

"How long are you gonna be gone?" She asked.

"Not sure." He answered truthfully.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, this is something that I have to do alone."

"I understand."

"You could help me wrap him up and drag his body to the car though." Dexter suggested with the hints of a grin on his lips. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, just an every day task for the girlfriend of mass serial killer Dexter Morgan." She laughed.

"Yeah." He agreed. They stared at each other for a moment before meeting in the middle and kissing passionately. It took a moment before they realized that there was still an unconscious body lying on the floor between them, "We're good together." He remarked and she nodded as she picked up Brian's feet while Dexter took his shoulders.

"Disturbingly so."

END.

**So that's it... for now... First chapter of sequel being uploaded tonight so go check it out :)**

**XOXO**

**Summer Jane**


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